this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm sally bundock. the philippinejournalist and nobel peace prize winner maria ressa has been acquitted of tax evasion charges. today, facts win, truth wins, justice wins. nurses in england and wales are striking today and tomorrow over pay and conditions. belgian police say a key suspect in a corruption scandal at the european parliament has cut a deal with investigators. could one of britain's richest men become the new owner of manchester united football team?

hello and welcome. the philippinejournalist and nobel peace prize winner, maria ressa, has been acquitted of tax evasion charges by a manila court. her news site, rappler, was also cleared of tax evasion. ms ressa, who was awarded the nobel prize alongside a russian journalist in 2021, is head of rappler, which earned a reputation for its in—depth reporting and tough scrutiny of the former president rodrigo duterte. she was convicted in 2020 for libel — and does face several other charges, which she says are politically motivated.

she spoke a little earlier. today, facts win, truth wins, justice wins. a brazen abuse of power. voice waivers and meant to stop journalists from doing theirjobs, but... give me two seconds... these cases are where capital markets, where rule of law, where press freedom meet, right? so, this acquittal is notjust for us, for rappler, it is for every filipino who has ever been unjustly accused.

lian buan isjustice reporter with rappler and has been closely following events. she joins us from london. you must be ecstatic about this outcome today?— you must be ecstatic about this outcome today? yes. thank you so much- _ outcome today? yes. thank you so much- i— outcome today? yes. thank you so much. i mean, _ outcome today? yes. thank you so much. i mean, when - outcome today? yes. thank you so much. i mean, when we - outcome today? yes. thank you | so much. i mean, when we have something like this in rappler, we get to work. we didn't actually realise that we can actually realise that we can actually celebrate until maria cried when she was being interviewed at the court. and that's only when we said, "maybe it's a good day for us, so we can celebrate a little bit." �* , h, y �* bit." absolutely. i've interviewed - bit." absolutely. i've interviewed maria. i bit." absolutely. i've l interviewed maria. she bit." absolutely. i've - interviewed maria. she won bit." absolutely. i've _ interviewed maria. she won the nobel peace prize for a good reason. she's a formidable character. but you could sense the emotion and the stress she's been under for years the emotion and the stress she's been underfor years now. yeah, i think so. she's been underfor years now. yeah, ithink so. i she's been underfor years now. yeah, i think so. i think with maria and every other rappler in the newsroom — we're built to withstand attacks. so a good thing happening to us is kind of disarming. and she said she doesn't cry for negative outcomes — she only cried for

the positive outcome. so it's a good day for us, but also for all filipino journalists, because it signals maybe a dawn of a new era. because it signals maybe a dawn of a new era-— of a new era. well, let's talk about that. _ of a new era. well, let's talk about that, because - of a new era. well, let's talk about that, because rappler| of a new era. well, let's talk - about that, because rappler was under investigation for several things. this clearance today is about tax evasion. just talk us through the journey you've been on at rappler. through the journey you've been on at rappler-— on at rappler. well, we're not out of the _ on at rappler. well, we're not out of the woods _ on at rappler. well, we're not out of the woods yet. - on at rappler. well, we're not out of the woods yet. this - on at rappler. well, we're not out of the woods yet. this is l out of the woods yet. this is one out of the four active court cases. one is her libel conviction, which could put her away for a conviction, which could put her away fora minimum conviction, which could put her away for a minimum of six years. the closure order on rappler is still pending. so, i mean, we've been through a lot since 2018, and we've withstood all kinds of attacks. and every otherjournalist all kinds of attacks. and every other journalist also all kinds of attacks. and every otherjournalist also has withstood all kinds of attacks from the previous duterte government, so we're still very new to the feeling of victory. maria herself has been investigating rodrigo duterte for many, many years — even

before he became president of the philippines. the new administration currently in power — what's the situation for press freedom there? i mean, there seems to be for press freedom there? i mean, there seems to be a balancing of sentiments with mead you with president ferdinand marcus mead you with president ferdinand marcuer. media largely was part of the institution that toppled down the dictator, his father. we were very critical of him during the campaign. but he is projecting a certain kind of alliance towards human rights in the international community, and this victory might signal that he would probably undo what duterte had done. and it's a very welcome development for a very welcome development for a profession that has been through so much the last six years. so we'll take it — we'll take this victory and see what marcos has in store for us for the next six years — but it doesn't mean we're going to be less critical of him. in

doesn't mean we're going to be less critical of him.— less critical of him. in 2020, maria ressa _ less critical of him. in 2020, maria ressa was _ less critical of him. in 2020, maria ressa was convicted l less critical of him. in 2020, | maria ressa was convicted for libel. what's the next steps for that case?— libel. what's the next steps for that case? the case is now at the supreme _ for that case? the case is now at the supreme court. - for that case? the case is now at the supreme court. it's - for that case? the case is now at the supreme court. it's at l at the supreme court. it's at the end of the road for maria, so it's now at the hands of the court of last resort. so we're just waiting on that.- just waiting on that. ok. we appreciate — just waiting on that. ok. we appreciate your _ just waiting on that. ok. we appreciate your time. - just waiting on that. ok. we appreciate your time. thank| just waiting on that. ok. we - appreciate your time. thank you so much for talking to us. just to say as well, later today, maria ressa will be doing a sit—down interview with us here at the bbc. you'll be able to watch that later here on bbc news. nurses in england are starting a two—day strike, in an ongoing members of the royal college of nursing last took action nurses in england are starting a two—day strike, in an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions. members of the royal college of nursing last took action in december — and they're planning further walkouts next month, which will also cover wales. who's looking after our mums and dads and kids? nurses. but you can't do that when you're running on empty. i

you can't do that when you're running on empty.— running on empty. i first met carmel, running on empty. i first met carmel. an — running on empty. i first met carmel, an experienced - running on empty. i first met| carmel, an experienced nurse running on empty. i first met. carmel, an experienced nurse in liverpool, back injune. then we talked about the impact of the cost—of—living crisis on health workers. now, carmel says things have got even worse. ~ �* ., , ., worse. we've got people leaving because they — worse. we've got people leaving because they can't _ worse. we've got people leaving because they can't afford - worse. we've got people leaving because they can't afford to - worse. we've got people leaving because they can't afford to be l because they can't afford to be a nurse. nurses are recognised now that we desperately need more nurses. the only way we're going to do that, to attract people to the procession, is to say that you will have a good living wage. and we haven't got that at the minute.— that at the minute. what do we want? all: w all: fair pay! the first strike last month — all: fair pay! the first strike last month involved - all: fair pay! the first strike last month involved around l all: fair pay! the first strike | last month involved around 44 nhs trusts in england, along with strikes in wales and northern ireland. this week, more than 50 trusts will be affected. strike action in scotland has been paused. while they support the objectives behind industrial action, not all nurses believe striking is the answer — especially this winter. the answer - especially this winter. �* , ., , winter. i'm seeing the worst conditions — winter. i'm seeing the worst conditions i've _ winter. i'm seeing the worst conditions i've ever - winter. i'm seeing the worst conditions i've ever seen, i winter. i'm seeing the worst i conditions i've ever seen, and patients that are very, very sick. how can i walk out on my

patients? it's like walking out on my own mother. over the past few weeks, the nhs has been under extreme pressure, and there's the added challenge of freezing icy weather over the next few days, so nhs bosses are having to think carefully about what's to come. in areas being affected by strikes, there will be fewer nurses working, so people are being asked to use nhs111 as a first port of call. but there are exceptions. if first port of call. but there are exceptions. if somebody is out there _ are exceptions. if somebody is out there and _ are exceptions. if somebody is out there and they _ are exceptions. if somebody is out there and they think - are exceptions. if somebody is out there and they think that l out there and they think that they have an emergency problem — particularly things like chest pain or if they think they might be having a stroke — they might be having a stroke — they should still call 999. our emergency services are still there for them. we need them to come forward for these time—critical medical problems. more strike dates for nurses in england and wales have been announced for next month. overworked and underpaid! ..with further action to come from ambulance workers, physiotherapists, and maybe

evenjunior doctors, discontent among health workers is mounting. dominic hughes, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news: a $10,000 reward is being offered for help in catching the people who killed three generations of one family at their home in california on monday. a teenage mother, her baby and a grandmother were among six people killed at a residence in the small town of goshen. the address had recently been linked to drug—related activity italian police have released cctv footage, showing the alleged mafia boss matteo denaro arriving at a private hospital, just minutes before he was arrested. this is him, wearing a hood, mask and dark glasses, at the la maddalena clinic on monday morning. he had been receiving treatment for cancer, having spent three decades on the run. jury selection has begun in california for a civil case against the tesla owner, elon musk. the case centres on two tweets which mr musk put out in 2018

which caused huge fluctuations in the tesla share price. the case is considering whether those tweets constituted fraud. mr musk denies having beendeceitful. belgian prosecutors say they've struck a deal with one of the main suspects in a european union corruption scandal. pier antonio panzeri will receive a reduced prison sentence in exchange for information. qatar has contested claims they offered bribes to try to influence the european parliament. our reporter sofia bettiza is following this. sofia, can you take us through the latest developments? antonio panzeri is a former mep, member of the european parliament in brussels. he is a centralfigure in this corruption scandal,

so—called qatargate. he was arrested in brussels a few days ago, with other senior eu officials. he's now admitted to participating in a criminal organisation and being an active corrupter. he has agreed to a plea bargain. this means he is going to give details on how the criminal network operated. mr panzeri has a lawyer, who's just given an interview. let's listen to him. translation: it is clear that mr panzeri — translation: it is clear that mr panzeri is _ translation: it is clear that mr panzeri is involved. - translation: it is clear that mr panzeri is involved. he - translation: it is clear that | mr panzeri is involved. he does not deny— mr panzeri is involved. he does not deny it _ mr panzeri is involved. he does not deny it. this is a man who is destroyed. he will have to tell everything he knows, both about— tell everything he knows, both about the beneficiaries of the corruption phenomena, the organisation that was implemented, and the financial circuits — implemented, and the financial circuits that exists. in other words. _ circuits that exists. in other words. he _ circuits that exists. in other words, he will have to say everything he knows. this part of the — everything he knows. this part of the commitment he has made.

this goes right to the heart of the european union, with some very senior officials arrested? that's right. one of the people arrested is a greek mep. she's vice—president of the european parliament. she denies any wrongdoing, but this doesn't look good for the eu institution. it's also worth mentioning that qatar denies that it tried to gain influence in the european parliament through gifts and through money but, as wejust through gifts and through money but, as we just heard from his lawyer, mr panzeri is getting ready to name the people that he's tried to bribe. so this latest development means that more revelations are coming. 0k. sofia, thank you, for the latest on that story. do stay with us here on bbc news. so much more to come, including: could one

of britain's richest men become the new owner of manchester united football team? donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill in washington. it's going to be only america first — america first. demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him 'the butcher of lyon'. klaus altmann is being held on a fraud charge in bolivia. the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as close as possible to this spot —

a tide of humanity that'sl believed by officials - to have broken all records. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the philippinejournalist and nobel peace prize winner, maria ressa has been acquitted of tax evasion charges. nurses in england and wales are striking today and tomorrow over pay and conditions. the family of a woman who died in a crush during a concert at the 02 academy in london last month is calling for a public inquiry. it comes after the bbc discovered some security guards at the venue in brixton regularly took bribes and let people into gigs without tickets. greg mckenzie reports.

# it's beginning to look a lot like christmas.... rebecca ikumelo was 33 and a single mum of two. how was school today? one of her sons had autism, and she was using her social media platform to help other parents. she was doing really well. she was getting recognised. she was doing interviews. devoted to her two children, her family are still in shock. i can tell they are missing their mum. everyone is supporting them. they've got a lot of support. they want answers and for no one else to go through what they are going through. these kind of things shouldn't be happening. when you are going to enjoy yourselves. people need to make sure things like this don't happen again in the future. you've just got to make sure everything is on point and correct. these videos show the immediate aftermath of last month's crowd crush at the 02 academy brixton, which claimed the lives

of two people. the other victim was gabby hutchinson. the concert had to be cut short after a large number of people tried to force their way inside the venue. 3000 people have broken the doors outside. the police have asked us to close the show. the local council has suspended the venue's license but a security guard working at the club at night has told the bbc that some security staff took bribes from fans without tickets. he claims the practice involving security guards pretending to scan fake tickets for cash was widespread at ap security, which operates door staff at brixton and other venues across the uk. there were people taking money.

maybe five staff making £1000 in cash. there was drug dealers and gangs coming in. our company knew what was going on and they knew the people who were doing it and they did nothing about it. ap security declined to comment on these claims. meanwhile, the metropolitan police are continuing to appeal for anyone with information to come forward. greg mckenzie, bbc news. a bbc investigation has found that political parties in nigeria are secretly paying social media influencers to spread false information about their opponents, ahead of the country's general elections in february. as millions of nigerians try to decide who to vote for in next month's elections, they're facing a flood of political misinformation on social media. fauziyya tukkur from the bbc�*s global disinformation team reports. with an estimated 80 million

nigerians online, social media plays a huge role in national debates about politics. the bbc has spoken to insiders from two elliptical parties who claim that influences have been paid to deliberately spread false political information on the platform. to protect their identities we have changed their names and used actors to reconstruct the interviews. irate reconstruct the interviews. we a - roach reconstruct the interviews. - approach people directly on social media, we are recruiting, looking at people in the space who have a voice copy we have paid an influencer up copy we have paid an influencer up to 20 million naira for delivering a set of result. zt} delivering a set of result. 20 million naira is equivalent to about 115,000 us dollars. under nigerian law it isn't illegal or political parties to higher social media influences but it is illegal to spread disinformation and it goes against the's odyssey. our

insider says dirty tactics are part of the game. irate insider says dirty tactics are part of the game.— insider says dirty tactics are part of the game. we use images that may not _ part of the game. we use images that may not even _ part of the game. we use images that may not even be _ part of the game. we use images that may not even be relevant. that may not even be relevant to the story we are trying to spend the weekend eight pictures from east africa, in the 90s, in war zones for example and attach it to a tweet about how my ethnic group is being killed.— is being killed. there are hundreds _ is being killed. there are hundreds of _ is being killed. there are hundreds of other - is being killed. there are - hundreds of other confirmed cases of false political information going viral. even when there is no suggestion or evident of money changing hands. injuly influences hands. in july influences shared hands. injuly influences shared a photo claiming to show the son of presidential candidate standing on the nigerian flag at the man in the photo is not his son. meanwhile, more false political claims went viral, associating a candidate for vice president with members of the islamist militant group book karama. through reverse image search we found that picture which claims

to show him having a meal with a run members was first used in a run members was first used in a 2017 use report. it shows him meeting people as part of a education drive while he was governor of the state's top experts say the spread of misinformation is a threat. that misinformation is a threat. at the misinformation is a threat. git the end of every election, it is very difficult to sort fact from fiction.— is very difficult to sort fact from fiction. ~ from fiction. we reported some ofthe from fiction. we reported some of the posts _ from fiction. we reported some of the posts to _ from fiction. we reported some of the posts to twitter. - of the posts to twitter. twitter has taken down some of the accounts and says it has a responsibility to protect electoral conversations from interference and manipulation. but as nigerians go to the polls they may be questioning how to trust the political information they are getting without knowing who really behind it. fauziyya tukkur, bbc

news. in southern africa, thousands of children have gone back to school in malawi after classrooms were forced shut following an outbreak of cholera. more than 750 people have died from the disease in malawi in the last year — and schools in the capital lilongwe and elsewhere have been closed for two weeks as a precaution. daniel dadzie reports. life returns to normal in malawi's schools. for two weeks, these children have been forced to stay at home, as an outbreak of cholera ravaged their country. malawi's cholera epidemic began after tropical storm anna and cyclone gombe caused extensive flooding last year and overwhelmed the country's water and sanitation systems. between december and january, more than 300 more deaths were recorded, with 19 lives lost on new year's eve alone. the ministry of health therefore postponed

the reopening of schools in the capital and the second largest city in order to check the spread. on tuesday, the students were allowed to go back to their classrooms, though the death toll continues to rise. authorities have given assurances that the school's sanitation has improved. we have in buckets where we will be put water to wash their hands, and soap. we also have disinfectants, a chlorine for cleaning the toilets and the classrooms. , , , , . has brought in will help 89 schools in both cities and it will help around 200,000 learners to have access to better hygiene. malawi - is among 31 countries hardest hit by cholera. the disease affects between 1.3 million and 4 million people each year,

causing up to 143,000 deaths. the world health organization has warned that the planet is witnessing a worrying upsurge in outbreaks, with climate change adding to traditional triggers, such as poverty and conflict. these students can only hope that the who sponsored vaccination programme currently under way in the country will provide a permanent solution. to some sporting news now and the british billionaire, sirjim ratcliffe, has confirmed he's interested in buying manchester united. the 70—year—old, who founded the chemicalfirm ineos, has been a fan of the club since he was a child. mr ratcliffe attempted to buy chelsea last year, but his offer was rejected. our sports editor dan roan has this update.

a lot of united fans will be hoping it happens, because so many of them are desperate to see the back of the club's american owners — the glazerfamily — who have presided over a period of decline both on the pitch and in terms of the stadium, old trafford, itself. now last year, they said they would be willing to listen to offers for the club after potentially bringing to an end a period of ownership, 18 years almost, defined by fan protests, controversy, and debt. now this evening, the british chemicals giant ineos — owned by one of the country's richest men, sirjim ratcliffe — formally said he'd entered the bidding process. will it happen? well, it's important to remember that last year, ratcliffe tried and failed to buy chelsea, having bid too late. there is no doubt he will face fierce competition for united if he does bid — the glazer family are thought to want at least £5 billion,

and there's expected to be interest from the middle east and us as well. but having said that, he already has significant sports investment in the likes of sailing, cycling, f1, and, of course, football — he owns the french club nice. and he's made no secret of the fact he is a united fan — it was his boyhood club, having grown up here in manchester. we will keep a close eye on how that story develops. and finally, madonna has announced a new tour this summer to mark more than a0 years of hit singles. the best selling female music artist of all time used her instagram to share a video teeing up the tour, which will take her to 35 cities, starting in north america and moving through europe. organisers said "madonna: the celebration tour" will take fans on her "artisticjourney through four decades and pays respect to the city of new york where her career

in music began". there you have it. i will be back with all the top business stories next, more on tesla and elon musk. i will see you in just a moment. hello, there. the cold weather is here to stay for a bit longer just yet, but the amount of snow we've seen has varied a lot from place to place. many of us haven't seen a single flake over recent days. there's been a smattering over the tops of the hills of the beautiful cumbrian lake district. but a bit more than that in highland, where we have seen some places reporting over 30cm of lying snow. that's where the majority of the disruption's been, but i suspect the disruptive potential is growing — these shower clouds, many of them with snow mixed in, are starting to become more widespread, and are moving their way across more areas of the western side of the uk, and with that comes the threat of disruption. so a band of snow crosses scotland southwards, crosses northern ireland southwards, with showers becoming much more widespread for wales and areas of western england.

now we are going to see accumulations of snow building up — 5—15cm for these areas over modest hills, but at times, the snow will come all the way down to sea level. like recent nights, we still have seepage coming in from the fields, and with a sharp frost around, it's notjust the snow that has the potential to cause some transport disruption on into wednesday morning. but there'll be widespread ice, again, bringing very, very dangerous conditions out on the roads. on the face of it, temperatures not quite as low as recent days, however, we've got stronger winds — and if anything, i think that's going to make it certainly a bitter—feeling day on wednesday. the winds ease off a little bit as we head into thursday, but we're not finished with the stream of showers — they will, this time, mostly be concentrated across scotland, perhaps a bit more of a mixture here. some rain, some sleet and a bit of snow over the hills. there'll also be a few showers affecting the northwest of both england and wales. that aside, there'll be plenty of sunshine around, and our temperatures, well, not really changing a great deal, 5—6 celsius, maybe a seven towards parts of southwest england.

however, we will see some bigger changes in our temperatures as we head into the weekend, particularly across the western side of the uk, as we start to draw up these southwesterly winds. but cold air slower to move away from the east. so, there will be a big jump up in temperatures across northern and western areas — in many cases, back into double figures — as we go through the weekend. but with that will come thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain. the colder air still hanging on across eastern areas, but even here, temperatures should slowly rise closer to normal.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a brighter future? delegates in davos talk of an improving economic outlook, but will the data line up with the optimism? we get inflation numbers for europe today. the battery is flat — who will rescue britishvolt after the uk battery startup collapses into administration? tesla shareholders take elon musk to court in the us over a tweet from 2018. and in the cut—throat world of luxury fashion, how is burberry faring? all will be revealed today.