welcome to bbc news. i'm lisa—marie misztak. our top stories: explosion. bloody and britell trench warfare. —— bloody and brutal trench warfare. we're on the frontline, just 700m from russian forces, where soldiers are engaged in brutal trench warfare. get in, get down. breathes heavily. those two two russian shells that have just come in. i think it's tank fire. the head of tiktok is grilled by us lawmakers as he tries to convince them the chinese—owned app is not a threat to us national security. and tear gas and dozens of arrests in paris as protests across france against plans to raise the pension age continue into a ninth day.

world athletics issues new guidance on transgender athletes, saying they cannot compete in the female category at international events. in ukraine, soldiers are engaged in brutal trench warfare reminiscent of battles in another war more than a century ago. the fighting around the key city of bakhmut is some of the bloodiest, with neither side gaining a significant advantage. our correspondent quentin sommerville and camera operator darren conway have been to the frontline, where some of the fiercest fighting of the war has taken place. into a crate of no man's land, where even tank armour can be breached. up close and in range, serhii's tank crew releases everything it's got against russian targets. explosions.

the enemy is just 500m away across this field. watch serhii's round hit, top right. gunfire. the orders are get in, get out, and take cover. we are right behind them. quickly! go to position. go, quickly. go quickly! open ground is their enemy's friend. explosion. translation: our tank worked successfully on the target, - so the enemy artillery is now targeting us. our drone spotters gave the tank crew the commands to urgently roll back out of range, so our guys won't be hit by the enemy's artillery. explosions. that was a 120mm shell landing, maybe around 20—30m away from us.

a brief lull and it's time to move again. this is what a year of attacks has done to the town of velyka novosilka. once thriving, it's all but abandoned. and still, russian bombs fall here. explosion. a mortar lands to the right. the town has already been reduced to rubble. and yet another mortar lands... explosion. ..even closer. they're zeroing in. any movement here captures russia's attention. in the town and on its outskirts, travelling in the open can be a matter of life or death. this road is within range of russian guns and it has to be taken at speed. to a stricken wasteland, where russian eyes are always

watching. gunfire. infantryman dima — he's only 22 years old — is escorting us forward. the trenches we're heading to are about a kilometre ahead and dima'sjust told me the village over here is half held by the ukrainians and half held by the russians. gunfire. explosion. gunfire. heavy breathing.

explosion. whoa! mortars, tank fire, grenades — they get hit by everything here. leave — fast, fast, fast! separated by incoming fire, camera journalist darren connelly. .. in here! ..pulls us into the trench. q, there's a bunker here! q! this way! come on, run! run, run, run! straight to me. down, down, down, down. down. get in, get down. breathes heavily. those two russian shells that have just come in, i think it's tank fire. i think they're very close to these positions. gives you an idea of how exposed it is here. there's absolutely no tree cover. the safest place for these

men is in the trenches. they've already taken a couple of casualties here in the last week. the bombardments never stop. explosion. translation: we are standing at zero position and right now, | we're under mortar fire. when the next one might be a direct hit... explosion. ..it�*s hard not to flinch. does dima think russia could win here? translation: it's a good question. l this question needs to be addressed to the senior military. explosion. oh, that was close! what do you think — can russia win? i don't know.

they have an unlimited amount of shells. they have entire warehouses full of them. they can shoot all day and they'll never run out of shells. and what about us? we will run out of shells this year. but we are forming various assault brigades and we have been given tanks like abrams, so i think with their help, we will win. and we are cossacks. we are brave guys. we can handle it. translation: ok, you and dima go together and i will go - with the other group. dima checks if the ground is clear. explosion. "we won't go for now," he says.

dima welcomes the cover of darkness. a single shift here feels like a lifetime. beyond these trees lurks a great danger. their daily duty is holding it back. their country's freedom depends on it. russia could attack again at any moment. dima and his comrades will be waiting. quentin sommerville, bbc news, velyka novosilka. the chief executive of tiktok has been defending the chinese—owned video—sharing app in the face of hostile the chief executive of tiktok has been defending the chinese—owned video—sharing app in the face of hostile questioning at a us congressional committee hearing. shou zi chew denied tiktok is a national security risk and played down the company's connection to china but many in congress are not convinced, as nomia iqbal reports. 150 million americans... even before he arrived, shou zi chew was on tiktok arguing for its existence.

and even before he started speaking, lawmakers made it clear how they felt. tiktok has repeatedly chosen the path for more control, more surveillance and more manipulation. your platform should be banned. shou zi chew hit back. bytedance is not owned or controlled by the chinese government. but politicians and many parent activists here don't believe that. former president donald trump was suspicious... we are looking at tiktok. we may be banning tiktok. ..and now, in a rare moment of bipartisanship, presidentjoe biden and congress are, too. they claim the apps beijing—based company bytedance has strong links with the chinese government and fear and fear data belonging to more than 100 million american users could end up in the hands of the chinese communist party. we don't sell data to data brokers. the issue is whether the company, tiktok,

would commit to not selling it to anyone and just using it for its own purposes internally. i can get back to you on the details. mr chew denies the claims, and says all us data is being stored inside america after the app created a billion—dollarfirewall to alleviate concerns. we do not collect body, face or voice data... legally, it's unclear how a ban would work but politically, it may be damaging. if you're a politician trying to win over young voters, banning their favourite app may cost you. the president has — has made an effort to demonstrate in the past that he values and cares about young people and their opinions and i think that the fact that that is not been — to something that — that he has publicly discussed when talking about tiktok, i think that can be — that can an... do you feel let down, then? i wouldn't say i'm let down. i would say i — i hope to see clear — a clear demonstration of how young people are being included in this conversation by the president. after more than four hours of grilling, it's hard to say if mr chew is convinced politicians here. president biden has already given the backing by lawmakers to ban tiktok.

he has told the company to find a new owner, or else. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. i'mjoined now byjim anderson in new york. he is a technology and social media expert and ceo of beacon, a software coding platform. it's great to have you back on the programme. we've seen a rare showing of bipartisanship bought from republicans and democrats at the congressional hearing but can you explain the risks that the politicians are so worried about over tiktok? this is a us and china issue. we talk about data and the data is stored in texas and tiktok is stored in texas and tiktok is very much trying to convince us they've protected the data and i don't doubt are operating on good faith trying to protect the data but it misses the larger point. tiktok is owned by bytedance and bytedance is a chinese company and the one question tiktok cannot answer is if the chinese government opposes such a divestiture which they seem to and says we

do not want to do that would bytedance allow that divestiture to happen and we think we all know the answer is no so clearly the chinese government is in control, whether they've done anything malicious yet is sort of secondary. the question is could they do something malicious and will they do something malicious in an era where tensions are escalating between the west and china? fire between the west and china? are there any solutions you mr mark mr chew has suggested project texas with tiktok restructuring how data is stored but do you think how the congressional hearing listens to that suggestion or bought into that suggestion? i suggestion or bought into that suggestion?— suggestion? i think it really misses the _ suggestion? i think it really misses the point _ suggestion? i think it really misses the point honestly. | suggestion? i think it really i misses the point honestly. on the internet all data is one click away so you store the data in texas and implement protections and there are plenty of responsible things every company whether chinese owned us owned should do to protect data and privacy so i'm not diminishing their legitimate efforts there to try to protect privacy but again, that misses the point, it's what happens if the chinese government wants to put its fingers on the scales and wants

to get access to the data and what if it wants to push and steer the algorithms to push certain types of content to the youth of america or the use of the world? is really nothing to prevent them from doing that when you're talking about it being owned by a chinese parent company and so, project texas does nothing to prevent that from happening.— does nothing to prevent that from happening. how realistic could potential _ from happening. how realistic could potential band - from happening. how realistic could potential band b - from happening. how realistic could potential band b and . from happening. how realistic. could potential band b and how could potential band b and how could it be enforced, considering almost 150 million americans use the app? —— band be enforced. americans use the app? -- band be enforced-— be enforced. president trump tried to issue _ be enforced. president trump tried to issue an _ be enforced. president trump tried to issue an executive - tried to issue an executive order to force the divestiture, it was ruled unconstitutional and lost in the courts and i think there is speculation that president biden did the same thing he would run into the same problems as i think ultimately it's going to need to be a lot at least in the us but we saw the bipartisan support we saw in congress today which was not a good day for to talk and you have a rare degree of bipartisanship there and so if congress passes a law president biden signs the law than i think that's the mechanism to actually get the

band to occur and the young people may not like it but young people are notoriously fickle and they probably would abandon tiktok in the next shiny thing come along anyway so i think the political realities are that young people are not going to prevent it from happening. jim anderson, technology _ from happening. jim anderson, technology and _ from happening. jim anderson, technology and social _ from happening. jim anderson, technology and social media . technology and social media expert, thank you. during the congressional hearings, tiktok was also accused of delivering harmful content to young people, and utah is the first american state to act on such fears. utah will require parental permission for anyone under 18 to use social media platforms such as tiktok and facebook. the french prime minister has condemned the violence that's accompanied the latest day of mass demonstrations against the reform of the pension system. there were clashes in numerous cities as more than a million people took to the streets to protest president macron�*s plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. lucy williamson reports from paris.

after bypassing opposition in parliament, president macron is facing it on the street. in paris a largely peaceful demonstration was hijacked by violent protesters, less concerned with battling pension reform than battling police. there are now running battles between small groups of agitators and the police in all the streets around this area of central paris. there are bins on fire, tear gas being fired, many projectiles being hurled at the police. this public protest has now descended into public unrest. more than a million people protested across france today. their slogans and their anger less focused on pensions than on the president, and the way his government has forced this reform through parliament without a thought.

tonight the interior minister visited police headquarters. translation: since this morning police have been the target - of unacceptable attacks. 149 have been injured, some of them seriously. they have been hit with acid, molotov cocktails and cobblestones. fires are still burning in paris, with fresh protests planned for next week. mr macron made two promises when he first ran for office. reform france and unite it. this battle is forcing him to choose which promise he most wants to keep. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: good news for the environment, say scientists, as gene—edited food is approved for development in england. applause i'm so proud of both of you. let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis.

with great regret, the committee has decided that south africa will be excluded from the 1970 competition. chanting streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. wow. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: (explosion)

fierce fighting around bakhmut, as ukrainian soldiers engage with russians in brutal trench warfare. the head of tiktok is grilled by us lawmakers, as he tries to convince them the chinese—owned app is not a threat to us national security. prosecutors in the united states have charged the south korean businessman, do kwon, with fraud in connection with a failed cryptocurrency scheme. south korean police have confirmed that a man arrested with false passports in montenegro on thursday is mr kwon. he's been on the run since his terraform labs collapsed last year owing billions of dollars to investors. nick marsh, our asia business reporter, has more. there montenegrin authorities actually found him and another suspect trying to board a flight to dubai with forged documents and now he has been detained, he has been on the run for many, many months now, like you said, the authorities in south korea but also us,

singapore here as well, have accused him of this multibillion—dollar crypto fraud of the south korean authorities put out a rattler to interpol saying police forces across the what, if you find this man, apprehend him, and even travelled to serbia next door to montenegro because it was thought mr kwon was there. there is no tradition treaty between south korea and serbia so they wear negotiations with diplomats in belgrade. the interior minister of montenegro has been tweeting about at so you'd have to assume he is going to be extradited in some way, shape orform. where two, we extradited in some way, shape or form. where two, we aren't sure yet, could be the us or south korea or singapore. there are many authorities after him. the world athletics council has announced that no female transgender athlete who has gone through male puberty will be permitted to compete in female world ranking competitions from 31 march. officials argue that such athletes would have an unfair advantage in strength and muscle mass.

i'm joined now by sports illustrated copy chief julie kliegman, live from new york. thank you for taking the time to come in the show, julie. not co— stressed the decision was about maintaining fairness. do you think the decision is fair? i don't. leaders like sebastian set up this false dichotomy between fairness and inclusion but the reality is being inclusive as being fair and there is just not science to suggest that the assertion transgender women athletes have these concrete advantages over their cis gender peers.- their cis gender peers. there are those _ their cis gender peers. there are those who _ their cis gender peers. there are those who argue - their cis gender peers. there are those who argue that - are those who argue that transit athletes who have gone through male puberty might potentially have this unfair advantage due to the biology make up. what's your assessment of that? i make up. what's your assessment of that? ~ . , .,

of that? i think athletes of all different _ of that? i think athletes of all different body - of that? i think athletes of all different body types - of that? i think athletes of| all different body types can have certain advantages and that's what makes sports fun and interesting. this, michael phelps has notoriously a big wingspan, things like that. he does not have an unfair advantage, hejust has does not have an unfair advantage, he just has one advantage, he just has one advantage in one area and he has weaknesses in other areas. this happens across sports all the time. , , ., , the time. this is not the first s-uortin the time. this is not the first sporting event _ the time. this is not the first sporting event for _ the time. this is not the first i sporting event for transgender women. world rugby in 2020 and welcoming, are using a trend that seems to be emerging? yes. i think this _ that seems to be emerging? yes. i think this is — that seems to be emerging? yes. i think this is a _ that seems to be emerging? yes. i think this is a trend _ that seems to be emerging? yes i think this is a trend where once one governing body came out and made this ruling, the others felt safer to do so, especially in light of the international olympic committee leaving it up to weld governing bodies to make these choices for themselves.— bodies to make these choices for themselves. what impact do ou think for themselves. what impact do you think this _ for themselves. what impact do you think this will _ for themselves. what impact do you think this will happen - you think this will happen athletes who have dsd,

differences in sex developments? it seems a lot of counted bloated to reduce the amount of blood testosterone in athletes with dsd. this excludes _ athletes with dsd. this excludes a _ athletes with dsd. this excludes a lot - athletes with dsd. this excludes a lot of - athletes with dsd. this l excludes a lot of athletes athletes with dsd. this - excludes a lot of athletes with intersex variations. from competing in women's sports, because it's a very tough threshold for testosterone to meet, even among women without intersex variations. julie kliegman, sports illustrated copy chief. thank you very much for your time. . ~' ,, thank you very much for your time. . ~ i. ,., thank you very much for your time. . ~ i. . thank you very much for your l time-_ let's time. thank you so much. let's aet time. thank you so much. let's get some _ time. thank you so much. let's get some of— time. thank you so much. let's get some of the _ time. thank you so much. let's get some of the day's - time. thank you so much. let's get some of the day's other - get some of the day's other news. the israeli prime minister has promised to press on with his judicial reforms after another day of huge protests by opponents who accuse him of undermining democracy. but in a change of tone, mr netanyahu said he would attempt to reach a solution acceptable to both supporters and critics. tens of thousands of people

took to the streets on thursday, after a law was approved, making it harder for courts to deem leaders unfit for office. president biden is meeting canada's prime minister, justin trudeau, in ottawa. the leaders are expected to update an asylum agreement, potentially allowing both countries to turn asylum seekers away at their borders. in exchange, canada has agreed to provide a new legal refugee programme for 15,000 migrants from latin america. the war in in ukraine, trade and the creation of an international force to stabilise haiti are also expected to be on the agenda for the visit. gene—edited food can now be developed commercially and sold in england after a change in the law. supporters of the technology say it will speed up the development of hardier crops that will be needed because of climate change. here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. this research centre in the cambridge countryside has been developing crops for farmers for more than a hundred years. they crossbreed different varieties to produce new ones that grow better and are more

resistant disease and can take ten to 15 years of development. from now, there will be able to use and genetic technology in england court gene editing that can halve that time. the england court gene editing that can halve that time.— can halve that time. the only thin we can halve that time. the only thing we need _ can halve that time. the only thing we need to _ can halve that time. the only thing we need to do - can halve that time. the only thing we need to do now - can halve that time. the only thing we need to do now is l thing we need to do now is adapt to climate change. mario, the head of— adapt to climate change. mario, the head of the _ adapt to climate change. mario, the head of the lab, _ adapt to climate change. mario, the head of the lab, shows - adapt to climate change. mario, the head of the lab, shows me i the head of the lab, shows me what could be done with gene editing. what could be done with gene editina. . . , ., editing. one characteristics we are looking _ editing. one characteristics we are looking into _ editing. one characteristics we are looking into weeds - editing. one characteristics we are looking into weeds is - editing. one characteristics we are looking into weeds is the l are looking into weeds is the root structure. typically we'd has a shallow root structure which we see here that we have other varieties that can go deeper and they were better prepared for climate change because they will do better in the conditions. the because they will do better in the conditions.— the conditions. the professor believes traditional _ the conditions. the professor believes traditional breeding | believes traditional breeding methods won't be able to produce all the food we need for a growing population in a warming world. the pro'ections show that hi warming world. the pro'ections show that if we * warming world. the pro'ections show that if we don't _ warming world. the projections show that if we don't bring - show that if we don't bring acceleration into how we can improve crops, we will struggle to feed people. the improve crops, we will struggle to feed people.— improve crops, we will struggle to feed people. the uk is among the world leaders _ to feed people. the uk is among the world leaders in _ to feed people. the uk is among the world leaders in plant - the world leaders in plant genetics but that expertise has

not really been able to take off because of the effects of ban on the commercial development of the technology. the hope is that the change in law will attract better investment, leading to new companies, newjobs and new foods. butjen annett had feared won't be allowed in scotland, ways and islands because the government won't change their rules. there is also a position from campaign groups in england. the also a position from campaign groups in england.— groups in england. the entire rocess groups in england. the entire process of— groups in england. the entire process of this _ groups in england. the entire process of this bill _ groups in england. the entire process of this bill has - groups in england. the entire process of this bill has been i process of this bill has been one of the government consulting a narrow range of vested interest scientist, usually in the biotech industry, who are reassuring the government that this change in the law will have no consequences. history has shown that when we remove regulatory control, particularly around food and the environment, there is a looming disaster on the horizon. . . is a looming disaster on the horizon. , , , ., horizon. the next step is to allow gene _ horizon. the next step is to allow gene edited - horizon. the next step is to allow gene edited animals i horizon. the next step is to i allow gene edited animals on english farms, like these disease resistant pigs. but

that will require another vote by mps in westminster once the government is satisfied that animals won't suffer. pallab ghosh, bbc news, cambridge. that's all for now. reach me on twitter. i am @lmmisztak. hello. quite an ominous—looking sky behind me with heavy showers forecast for friday, perhaps with hail and thunder. and indeed, the outlook is looking very unsettled. sunday onwards, it'll also turn quite a bit colder, particularly across the northern half of the uk. now, here's the satellite picture — look at this broad area of cloud to the south, that brought the rain on thursday evening. but the centre of the low pressure here now, a very large area of low pressure, is approaching ireland — and within this centre of low pressure, we have

frequent showers circling. so from early morning onwards, the winds will start to strengthen across many western parts of the uk. it's already cloudy with showers across scotland and northern ireland, but in england and wales it'll actually start off pretty clear — and in fact, lots of sunshine expected early in the morning. but as this area of low pressure approaches, the winds reach gale force around the south—western coasts of the uk, gusting 50mph or more, and really blustery inland, too. so the showers will be fast—moving across england and wales. again, some of them will be downpours with hail and thunder. in northern ireland and scotland, the showers will be slow—moving — the winds are much lighter here — so any showers will last for longer, and that's in the centre of this area of low pressure, and this blustery weather will continue into the evening hours on friday. this is saturday's weather map and one area of low pressure clears away — another one is approaching, but we're sort of in—between these areas of low pressure. i think the most frequent showers on saturday will be across more northern and eastern parts of england. elsewhere, yes, some showers in the forecast, not as heavy, not as frequent. temperatures will get up to around 12—13 degrees, i think, for most of us. and then on sunday, we start to see a change. cold northerly winds spread

from the northern climes, pushing that milder air to the south. and in the north of the country, yes, it will be cold enough for some hill snow. watch the wintry showers spreading across the highlands of scotland. in the south, however, closer to a weather front, there will be some rain early in the day, but eventually that rain will clear away. temperatures may be making double figures across the south of england and wales, but further north, it will be around six degrees in aberdeen, and a wind chill. and before i go, just a reminder that the clocks change this weekend. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines — explosion. ukrainian soldiers are engaged in a brutal trench warfare against russian troops. the fight for bakhmut is said to be the bloodiest yet. however, with the ukrainians losing ground in the north but standing firm in the south donetsk province, neither side is said to be at an advantage. the head of tiktok is grilled by us lawmakers as he tries to convince them the chinese—owned app is not a threat to us national security. chief executive shou zi chew faced questions on tiktok�*s relationship with state—owned parent company bytedance and the spread of misinformation. world athletics has issued new guidance on transgender