today at one in moscow: 25 years in prison for a russian—british critic of president putin — found guilty of treason. vladimir kara—murza has spoken out against russia's war with ukraine — and received the longest sentence yet of any opponent of the government. for one of the kremlin�*s most vocal critics, the maximum possible sentence. a quarter of a century behind bars. and that sends a chilling message to anyone thinking of taking on the kremlin. also on the programme this lunchtime... it's just been announced that rishi sunak is being investigated by the commissioner for parliamentary standards over a declaration of interest. in the us, the grief of a community in shock — at a vigil for the victims of the 16th birthday party mass shooting in alabama.

the countdown is on to the launch of the most powerful rocket ever built. this place has a new name now. or rather an old one — bannau brycheiniog, and it's all change for the brecon beacons as the national park will now be known by its welsh language name only. and coming up on bbc news, after arsenal dropped points at west ham, will it be the gunners or manchester city who are crowned premier league champions? good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. in russia, a leading critic of president putin has been sentenced to 25 years in jail — the longest sentence any opposition

figure has received so far. vladimir kara—murza has been convicted for treason and other charges linked to his criticism of the war in ukraine. mr kara—murza, who has british citizenship, is the latest of a series of opponents of president putin to have been arrested or forced to flee russia. the foreign office has condemned his conviction and sentencing as politically motivated and has pointed out that he previously faced two attempts to poison him. from moscow, our russia editor steve rosenberg has the latest. handcuffed and in a bullet—proof cage. one of president putin's most prominent critics. vladimir kara—murza faced multiple charges, including treason. the verdict, guilty. the punishment, the maximum possible. 25 years in prison. access to the courtroom was heavily restricted.

along with otherjournalists and foreign diplomats, we crowded into another room to watch on tv screens. for more than a decade, vladimir kara—murza has been a high—profile opponent of the kremlin. he helped persuade western governments to impose sanctions on russian officials for corruption and human rights violations. and he publicly condemned the war in ukraine. mr kara—murza is also a british citizen. the uk hasjoined international condemnation of what happened here today. the british government will continue to support him, and stand in solidarity with him and his family, and we will continue to call for his release. vladimir kara—murza has a british passport. what will britain do to try to secure his release? we are continuing to ask for consular access to mr kara—murza and we will continue to do that. for a critic of the kremlin, a political opponent of president putin, a prison sentence of 25 years is unprecedented in its severity.

and it's a sign that, in today's russia, the authorities are determined not only to silence all criticism, but to neutralise anyone and anything they believe could be a threat to the political system here. there will be an appeal, but there is little hope there will be a different outcome. vladimir kara—murza had been active on the international stage, speaking out against the war in ukraine and political persecution in russia, speaking out against the kremlin. in effect, he has been punished for that very public criticism. but also, he and his supporters suspect it was those international sanctions that he lobbied for, the magnitsky act, which also played a role, the visa bans and asset freezes on some russian officials, which sparked anger in the kremlin. what has happened today has been a reminder of the danger that activists,

politicians, opposition figures, putting themselves in, in opposition to the kremlin. it's not surprising that most of the leading russian opposition figures have fled the country, are under arrest, or are already in prison. president biden has condemned the killing of four people at a 16th birthday party in alabama this weekend as outrageous and unacceptable. 28 people were injured in the attack in dadeville, several critically. police haven't released details about who carried out the shooting or why. gun crime in the us, always high, is now on the rise — in 2019 there were a17 mass shootings, where four or more people were killed or injured. but since 2020 this has increased to more than 600 each year, that's an average of two per day. so far this year there have been at least 161 mass shootings. our north america correspondentjessica parker reports from dadeville.

shaken, shocked. a community gathers to grieve and to console one another in this small, rural town in east central alabama. our help is going to come from the creator of the universe... this is a tight—knit town. people know each other, and know the victims too, who'd been attending a sweet 16 birthday party. they were being free, they were having fun, they were celebrating a life. they were celebrating 16 years of life. and then it just turned tragic. it got dark, it got loud with gunshots and gunfire. the police have released very little information about suspects or a motive. local media have started naming those who were killed, including phil dowdell, a star high school athlete, well known here and well loved. he did not deserve that at all. he was too sweet of a person. he was too sweet for his own good.

like, he was a promising young football star. he had signed to a college. he had his whole life ahead of him, and notjust him, all of them. this is the building, the dance studio, where that 16th birthday party was taking place on saturday night. there's now no police tape. the door�*s sealed off, but it's a muted scene after the horrific events that unfolded here. the bullet holes in the glass, another trace of america's rising gun violence. president biden�*s again called for tighter firearms controls. it's a familiar call in a divisive debate that's happened so many times before. jessica parker, bbc news, dadeville, alabama. the most powerful rocket ever built is scheduled to take off for its first full test flight within the hour. the spacex rocket and spacecraft — collectively known as starship — are designed to be reusable. starship is almost 400 feet tall,

and has almost double the thrust of nasa's new artemis rocket. but as our science editor rebecca morelle reports, the owner of spacex elon musk has said the chances of success are 50—50. getting ready for its biggest test. this is starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket system ever built, and it's about to make its first attempt at flying to space. well, what makes starship special is, first of all, it's really big. like, really big. it'll have about 17 million pounds of thrust, so about twice as big as the biggest rocket we've ever launched. so, the scale of the thing, with over 30 engines, you know, it's just gargantuan. built by elon musk�*s company spacex, starship has been in development for years. parts of the rocket have been tested, making short flights with attempted landings — not always successfully.

but the idea is to be able to bring the entire launch system back to earth, making it fully reusable. for this test flight, starship will blast off from the spacex launch pad in texas. first, the lower part of the rocket will detach for a controlled splashdown in the ocean. the upper stage will carry on, aiming for almost a full orbit of earth before finally ending up in the pacific. there's a lot that could go wrong, and even elon musk admits there's only a 50% chance it will work. if they get all the way around and this vehicle splashes down just off hawaii, they might actually be a little bit surprised that they've been that successful. but that's just part of the process, part of the engineering development that they're doing. so we should expect failure. it's quite probable there will be some sort of failure along the way, but that's why they're doing it. that's why they want to learn from this. this will be the first of many tests. eventually, the plan is for starship to return astronauts to the lunar surface in a joint

mission with nasa. spacex have then set their sights on mars. the first step, though, is to be able to launch and land to show this technology works. rebecca morelle, bbc news. in the last half hour, it's been announced that the prime minister is under investigation by parliament's standards watchdog over a possible failure to declare an interest. our chief political correspondent, nick eardley, is in westminster and has the latest. yes, this announcement just yes, this announcementjust made by the standards commissioner in the past half hour, on his website. my understanding is that it is in relation to shares that rishi sunak�*s wife has in a childcare firm. you might remember that when the government announced an expansion of free childcare, questions were raised about those shares and opposition parties asked

if the prime minister should have been more open about the fact his wife held them and suggested that he had to answer questions about whether his family could potentially profit from the expansion of free childcare. at the time, mr sunak said everything had been properly declared to the cabinet office. but there is a question over whether it should have been included in the public declaration that is published on parliament was �*s website as well. in the past half hour, the standards commissioner has confirmed he is going to look into this. we don't know exactly why he has launched the investigation, that is something we are typically not told. but we do know that some opposition party suggested they would write to the commissioner, suggesting that he look into this. in the last few minutes i've had a statement from number 10, saying we are happy to assist the commissioner, to clarify how this has come in their words, been transparently declared as a ministerial interest.—

been transparently declared as a ministerial interest. many thanks, nick eardley, _ ministerial interest. many thanks, nick eardley, reporting _ ministerial interest. many thanks, nick eardley, reporting from - nick eardley, reporting from westminster. protesters who are "ignorant" are to blame for the death of hill sixteeen during saturday's grand national at aintree, according to the horse's trainer. the start of the race was delayed by 1a minutes after animal rights activists entered the track. the group animal rising, who demonstrated outside aintree, claimed their actions aimed to prevent the death of horses. joe wilson reports. on saturday, the start of the grand national was delayed by protesters. when the race began, hill sixteen fell at the first fence. it was injured and put down. the horse's trainer defines a clear link between the delayed start and the fall. if we look at the last nine years since the course has been modified, there's been an average of under two fallers at the first two fences. this year, everybody got very uptight about it — horses, jockeys, starter, and there were eight fallers at those first two fences. and this was all caused by these so—called animal lovers who actually are ignorant and have

absolutely no idea. animal rising, which organised the protest, believes there's a far broader point to address. the horse was running the race because their previous owner wanted them to. the real reason horses run in a race is so that people can bet on the horse, sojockeys can make money and people can have a fun day out. that doesn't seem like a good enough reason for putting an animal in harm's way, to me at least. the grand national has always been britain's most famous horse race and its most extreme. over the years, fences have been altered structurally and fatality rates have fallen, but still exceed the average in the sport. a0 horses normally start the race. reformers have long argued that that's too many. those who believe that racing should be abolished would then have to address the question of what happens to the horses. the british horseracing authority says there are 111,000 of them currently in training. joe wilson, bbc news. fighting is raging for a third day in the sudanese capital, khartoum.

the clashes are part of a power struggle within the country's military leadership, which has failed to deliver a transition to civilian government. a doctors' union in sudan says almost a hundred civilians have died — but the true number is likely to be higher. our senior africa correspondent, anne soy, reports. this is one of the warring groups in sudan. it's the powerful paramilitary group currently fighting against the country's army. both sides remain defiant and post videos like these claiming gains in the clashes. we cannot verify their claims. civilians are bearing the brunt of the fighting. there is nowhere safe to go. sudan is a majority muslim nation. it's a difficult ramadan for them. we do not have water here in khartoum. we are also afraid of running short of ourfood supplies here because all markets are closed.

unless there is a very immediate humanitarian truce for the people to get their needs, i think the people will be compelled to do some looting. millions who depend on humanitarian aid are not receiving any. the un says a four hour pause announced last evening to allow for humanitarian access was breached. these are images of the international airport in the capital khartoum, one of the areas targeted by the fighters. the rebel forces are battling for control of key security installations, including the presidential palace. regional leaders are due to travel to sudan to help broker peace. the international community is calling for the silencing of guns and a return to talks aimed at transitioning the country from military rule to democracy. the immediate future lies in the hands of the generals

who are engaged in this fight, and we call upon them to put peace first. but there is no sign of either side backing down. casualties are piling up by the day, putting a strain on a health system that was already on its knees due to political instability and a devastating economic crisis. anne soy, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime. 25 years in prison for vladimir kara—murza, a russian—british critic of president putin found guilty of treason. and still to come... # instead i wrote a song. eurovision hopefuls — including the uk's mae muller — perform for audiences in london. and coming up on bbc news, we speak to non—league footballer alex fletcher, who's campaigning for safety measures after almost losing his life when colliding with an advertising

hoarding during a match. the brecon beacons national park is rebranding under its welsh language name. officials say the switch to bannau brycheiniog will help celebrate the area's culture. the change is part of a wider overhaul of how the park is managed, which includes plans to reduce carbon emmisions and plant a million trees. john maguire has more. i'm taking the plunge. jumping into a river in the brecon beacons national park, but emerging into what's now called bannau brycheiniog, named after the king who ruled over this land in the fifth century. and no—one says it better than michael sheen in this promotionalfilm. a new kind of national park. not the brecon beacons national park, though.

not any more. no. this place has a new name now. or rather an old one — bannau brycheiniog — an old name for a new way to be. a name from our past, to take us into our future. beautiful, isn't it? yes, michael, it really is. even on this gorge walk in between thejumping and the swimming, the instructors believe it's important to remind you what this area means — not just today, but also in the past. the miners who used to work at the silica mine used to traverse the rocks going all the way along. you can see the gate and it came all the way along and they walked off towards the mine every morning. you can talk about flora and fauna.

the site itself is a sssi site. we've got to protect it to ensure that children can see it in years and years and years to come. along with the name change to promote the welsh language, the national park has produced an ambitious action plan — planting a million trees, restoring peatland that can capture carbon and re—establishing threatened animal species. the key word you keep hearing is balance. we're a park where communities live and visitors come and, in a way, we've got kind of out of balance between people and nature and the climate and so on. so at the heart of our plan is a wish to pull all that back into balance, to get to a situation where we can have thriving communities, thriving places, but where we live within the natural resources that are available. the park sees four million visitors a year, but is also the home and workplace for rural communities. come on, girls. this landscape is shaped notjust by geology, but also by farming and the food it produces. i think we do need to be careful that the national park is on a pedestal but, at the same time, we have to have the ability to run

businesses, to be profitable and to continue in these wonderful, vibrant communities, delivering on welsh language, the culture and the social aspect of what we have. its beauty is beyond doubt. but for bannau brycheiniog to thrive, that beauty needs to be more than skin deep. notjust a chocolate—box landscape, but a place where people and the natural world can work, rest and play in harmony, side by side, am byth — for evermore. john maguire, bbc news, brecon. a police officer has been charged with the rape of a woman while on duty. sergeant david stansbury, from ilminster in somerset, is charged with three counts of raping a woman in plymouth in 2009, devon and cornwall police said. our reporter danjohnson is in bristol — dan, what can you tell us?

yes, these charges have onlyjust been announced by devon and cornwall police in the last hour or so was that they relate to one of their own former officers are dating back to 2009, when sergeant david stansbury, who is now 42, was on duty in plymouth. he was charged with three counts of rape of a woman aged 16 or over. he is still a serving police officer, though no longer with devon and cornwall police. he currently serves with hertfordshire police, but is at the moment suspended from duty. the only information we have at the moment is that he faces these three charges of rape and he will appear at plymouth magistrates' court on wednesday. a£111" court on wednesday. our correspondent _ court on wednesday. our correspondent dan - court on wednesday. our correspondent danjohnson court on wednesday. our correspondent dan johnson there. the good friday agreement is a triumph of diplomacy and a testament to democracy, according to the former us secretary of state hillary clinton. she was speaking at a conference at queen's university belfast to mark 25 years of the peace deal. mrs clinton is hosting a ceremony to honour women

who've been involved in the northern ireland peace process. our ireland correspondent chris page has been hearing from some of them. as chancellor of queen's university belfast, hillary clinton is hosting world leaders and shifting historical perceptions. find world leaders and shifting historical perceptions. and of course, there _ historical perceptions. and of course, there wouldn't - historical perceptions. and of course, there wouldn't be - historical perceptions. and of course, there wouldn't be a l historical perceptions. and of- course, there wouldn't be a good friday agreement to celebrate today if it were not for the women of northern ireland.— northern ireland. applause. ms clinton — northern ireland. applause. ms clinton began _ northern ireland. applause. ms clinton began a _ northern ireland. applause. ms clinton began a series - northern ireland. applause. ms clinton began a series ofl northern ireland. applause. - ms clinton began a series of visits to northern ireland as first lady of the us in the 1990s. women in politics based prejudice. we the us in the 1990s. women in politics based prejudice. politics based pre'udice. we heard comments like _ politics based prejudice. we heard comments like "you _ politics based prejudice. we heard comments like "you women - politics based prejudice. we heard comments like "you women are i politics based prejudice. we heard comments like "you women are inj politics based prejudice. we heard - comments like "you women are in love with murders", or "you are too close to the progressive unionist party, you are sinn fein in skirts". so we knew we had to work to make is as

relevant and be taken seriously, because that is what women always have to do. ., because that is what women always have to tie-— have to do. some of the abuse that was directed _ have to do. some of the abuse that was directed towards _ have to do. some of the abuse that was directed towards women - have to do. some of the abuse that. was directed towards women assembly members _ was directed towards women assembly members was horrendous. that is not so visible _ members was horrendous. that is not so visible now and i think it's because _ so visible now and i think it's because it _ so visible now and i think it's because it was challenged. women who were politically — because it was challenged. women who were politically active _ because it was challenged. women who were politically active during _ because it was challenged. women who were politically active during the - were politically active during the early years of the conflict say the narrative should be rebalanced. ibrethren narrative should be rebalanced. when we started in — narrative should be rebalanced. when we started in civil _ narrative should be rebalanced. when we started in civil rights, _ narrative should be rebalanced. when we started in civil rights, it _ narrative should be rebalanced. “itdriezri we started in civil rights, it was the beginning of people recognising that the way forward was peaceful and not through violence. i suppose the role of women in that was underplayed over the years, which is nothing new in irish history, of course. ~ ., ., ~ ., course. what do you think of the women on _ course. what do you think of the women on the _ course. what do you think of the women on the ground? - course. what do you think of the women on the ground? hillary . course. what do you think of the - women on the ground? hillary clinton sa s she women on the ground? hillary clinton says she wants _ women on the ground? hillary clinton says she wants to _ women on the ground? hillary clinton says she wants to give _ women on the ground? hillary clinton says she wants to give proper - says she wants to give proper recognition to women who helped to end the violence. she is giving medals to 25, including all former party leaders and government ministers. there is also a posthumous award for mo mowlam, the

northern ireland secretary who had a big role in the good friday agreement. negotiators said tackling misogyny is integral to peace building. misogyny is integral to peace buildin: . ~ misogyny is integral to peace buildinu. ~ ., , ., misogyny is integral to peace buildinu. ., ., building. when you transform a society from — building. when you transform a society from conflict, _ building. when you transform a society from conflict, that - building. when you transform a society from conflict, that is . building. when you transform a l society from conflict, that is part of it. you need to change attitudes as well, that women are not subordinate and they are not objects to make derogatory comments about and that they are citizens and have and that they are citizens and have a very important role to play. dozens of international delegates are marking a quarter—century since the peace deal. stories are being revised and retold to give women rightful respect. chris page, bbc news, belfast. the compensation scheme for victims of the windrush scandal should be taken away from the home office and given to an independent body, according to a human rights group. the scandal, which unfolded five years ago, affected thousands of british people, mostly of caribbean origin, who arrived in the uk between 19118 and 1971 —

and who were wrongly classed as illegal immigrants. human rights watch says many people are facing "unreasonable" bureaucracy as they apply for compensation. the home office said it was committed to righting wrongs. you've probably already heard of local traffic neighbourhoods — they involve restricting car access through local communities. paid for by central government, the aim is to get us walking and cycling more, as part of an effort to cut air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. but they are dividing communities, as bbc panorama has been discovering. here's our climate editor, justin rowlatt. meet britain's most abused bollard. it's been repeatedly run over, bent, even burned. and, finally, stolen. its job is to redirect traffic in oxford as part of a low traffic neighbourhood. they are being installed by councils of all political stripes, but not everyone likes them.

here they are, putting up traffic cameras, and they can't even fix a pothole! this protest is in oxford, but there have been others. in thetford, norfolk... got to be honest, there's a lot of people here tonight that are pretty concerned as to why you're making decisions on their behalf, without consultation. and this is colchester, in essex. it's not even been decided. you're not fit for purpose. some fear local politicians could be intimidated. we're a network of around 107 local authorities, from both urban and rural. and what we've seen is around 17 of those have told us that they've been targeted in some way or another. so this could be the start of a really worrying trend that's emerging across the uk. and why do you see this as an attack on democracy? people should be allowed to express their views, shouldn't they? absolutely. however, if you've got a couple of extreme voices who are doing all the shouting, all the screaming, they inevitably take up all the bandwidth.

there seem to be two ideas of freedom in conflict here — the freedom to drive your car where you want, which is represented by the people here, and the freedom from the pollution and the congestion that cars cause. and they seem to be, these two ideas, irreconcilable. we should be seeking more freedom, not less. i don't want to be restricted by politicians and stuff like that. what about the freedom to be able to cycle down the street without getting knocked off your bike? what about the freedom of asthmatics to have better air quality? so, we've given up a lot of different freedoms for the one freedom, to drive your car wherever you want at any time. more roads are being earmarked for restrictions around the country. if it's the road where you live, which side will you be on? justin rowlatt, bbc news, oxford. you can see more on that story on panorama road wars: neighbourhood traffic chaos, which is on iplayer now and will be on bbc one at 8pm tonight.

there's just a few weeks to go now until the musical extravaganza that is the eurovision song contest begins here in the uk. over the past few weeks, some of the artists have been touring europe performing to fans — and last night was the final pre—party before they travel to liverpool. the bbc“s eurovision reporter daniel rosney went along to meet them. his report contains flash images. his report contains flashing images. cheering. it's a crazy experience that in slovenia, we have arena concerts and here we could probably have a very hard time filling up a pub. and it feels great. all of these people would come to a pub. of course. if it was a small pub, it would be filled up. pretty nicely, actually, so, yeah. the biggest selling band in slovenia is just one of the acts the uk“s mae muller will be competing against. # instead i wrote a song about how you did me wrong. # i could have cried at home.

sweden's loreen has won eurovision before, back in 2012. and this year, she's one of the frontrunners. i love this community and i know that people... i think — i hope that people feel how much i love them and how much i care. and so it goes around like this, you know, you give and you take. # the fire in your eyes...# with less than a month to go, this is the final time the acts get to perform in front of eurovision fans before the song contest begins in liverpool. it will be the biggest stage in the world, with 160 million watching at home. been having such a good time. it feels like a school trip. i don't want to think about it! that is a massive — i don't want to think about it! that is a massive number. you don't want to think_ is a massive number. you don't want to think about— is a massive number. you don't want to think about how many people that is. if to think about how many people that is if you _ to think about how many people that is. if you try— to think about how many people that is. if you try to imagine what does 160 million— is. if you try to imagine what does 160 million people look like, you can't _ 160 million people look like, you can't. “ , 160 million people look like, you

can't. �*, , so many people react to us. that wasn't _ so many people react to us. that wasn't planned, i swear to god! been having such a good time. it feels like a school trip. you know, it's amazing because when we all met, you know, first we were kind of feeling each other. yeah. "hey, how are you? you did great". and now it“sjust like, "go on, give me some love!" can i do the same thing? cheering. sixth member of the band! i made it to eurovision. see you in liverpool.

daniel rosney, bbc news. time for a look at the weather.