live from washington, this is bbc news. welcome to viewers on pbs in america. two men are arrested in new york for allegedly operating a chinese secret police station. fighting in sudan continuesdespite the un's call for a ceasefire. and one of president putin's most vocal critics is sentenced to 25 years injail. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. here in the us, prosecutors have arrested two men in new york for allegedly operating a chinese "secret police station" in manhattan's chinatown neighbourhood.

61—year—old lu jianwang, pictured on the right and 59—year—old chenjinping, pictured on the left are both new york city residents and face charges of conspiring to act as agents for china and obstruction ofjustice as us department ofjustice officials said in a conference this afternoon. these actions under the direction of the chinese government of flagrant violations of american sovereignty and thanks to our investigation and the rest today, with the fbi, the defendants will be held accountable and the body is on notice that we will not tolerate similar threats to our national sovereignty. the secret station is believed to be a part of a network of at least 100 operating across the globe in 53 countries, including the uk and the netherlands. last month, canada's federal police announced

an investigation into two montreal—area sites thought to be police outposts. the fbi's director christopher wray said in november:. our new york correspondent nada tawfik went to the justice department's press conference and has more from new york. us prosecutors say these two older men, who are both new york residents, both us citizens, that they opened an illegal chinese police station in 2022. china's ministry of public security and they said that began in 2022 in order to routinely monitor and intimidate dissidents and anyone critical of china's government in order to silence them and us authorities say that this was essentially an entire floor of an office building in manhattan's chinatown and that these men never notified the attorney general that they were acting as agents of a foreign government as they are required to do.

they allegedly closed the police station when they realise they were getting investigated. the fbi got an authorised search of the building, they were able to question the men and prosecutors say they admitted they had deleted their communications with the chinese government officials that they were in touch with in order to obstruct the fbi's probe so the complaint goes into that specific police station but also even earlier, there were kind of attempts to locate chinese persons of interest in the united states including pro—democracy activists living in california and trying to imitate them. —— intimidate them. let's turn to sudan — where fighting between rival armed factions has left more than 180 people dead, according to the un.this is the latest footage coming out of the conflict. sudanese citizens have been seeing this barrage of artillery fire light up the night sky in the capital khartoum. this both sides now claim

to control key sites in khartoum, where most of the violence has taken place. the european union says its ambassador to sudan was assaulted in his home there. these two men are at the centre of the fighting. the head of the armed forces, general abdel fattah al—burhan pictured here on the left and his deputy, mohamed hamdan dagalo pictured on the right who's in charge of a paramilitary group called the rsf — or rapid support forces. both of them want to control sudan's military.(biv)caught both of them want to control sudan's military. caught in the middle, are sudan's civilians. it's one of the poorest countries in the world — and millions need humanitarian aid. let's hear from some of them. only have drinking water for two days from now and we actually are out of tap water. translation: forthree actually are out of tap water. translation: for three days, we've — translation: for three days, we've had no food or drink. conditions are miserable.

please _ conditions are miserable. please send help. ferdinand 0mondi is following this story for us from nairobi. are civilians able to get out, access food so fighting has been going non—stop, almost non—stop according to united nations and now there are grave concerns that humanitarian protocols are not being respected. you mentioned the eu ambassador in sudan was attacked there stop they say he is fine but that is not the only incident. the un also mentioned that its warehouses and guesthouses given offices especially in where darfur were attacked and looted. there was supposed to be a ceasefire tonight but i've seen a post recently from the rsf that they respect the ceasefire but accusing the military side of not respecting the ceasefire so they said

there is a lot of shooting going on, so nothing happened. this is why it hasn't been respected, at least 1000 people who need urgent medical help and evacuation, and as long as the fighting continues, these people are in desperate need and cannot even accept the food they need because it's the holy month of ramadan. a£111" month of ramadan. our international— month of ramadan. our international calls - month of ramadan. our international calls for i month of ramadan. our international calls for a | international calls for a ceasefire, negotiations, having any impact? it ceasefire, negotiations, having any impact?— any impact? it does not seem so. any impact? it does not seem s0- here _ any impact? it does not seem so. here the _ any impact? it does not seem so. here the president - any impact? it does not seem so. here the president of - so. here the president of tenure and south sudan and djibouti were to fly to sedan as part of a grouping, to go and negotiate for a ceasefire. the army says the airport is under attack. the army says the airport is underattack. neighbours the army says the airport is under attack. neighbours like egypt and even russia and the wright have offered support, allies of the militia there. —— iraqi. it looks like both of

them are maintaining that they want to sort of talk but what it does appear right now is that they still want to maintain the upper hand before they can actually sit down. thank you. live now to nureldin satti, the former sudanese ambassador to the united states. very good to have you on the programme. i want to start with one of the developments we saw earlier today. we saw the eu foreign policy chief tweet something we will bring up to show here. he tweeted that the eu ambassador to sedan was assaulted in khartoum. what you make about? —— pseudonym. == make about? -- pseudonym. -- sudan. thank— make about? —— pseudonym. » sudan. thank you for bringing this up. this is really to be regretted. i mean, the present confusion that is existing,

it's difficult to say exactly who did what but the former diplomat and former un official, on behalf of my country, i would like to clearly apologise for this an orderly behaviour and i'm now appealing to see to it and abide by the geneva conventions and be more respectful of those who are doing their best to help us. who are doing their best to hel us. ., , ., , , help us. one of the problem is as ou help us. one of the problem is as you said. — help us. one of the problem is as you said, the _ help us. one of the problem is as you said, the situation - as you said, the situation appears to be extremely chaotic and analysts are saying this is the worst fighting they have seenin the worst fighting they have seen in khartoum for many years. why has it been so violent?— years. why has it been so violent? ~ ., ., , , ., violent? we have not seen, you know, i violent? we have not seen, you know. i was _ violent? we have not seen, you know, i was born _ violent? we have not seen, you know, i was born in _ violent? we have not seen, you know, i was born in the - violent? we have not seen, you know, i was born in the 405. i l know, i was born in the 40s. i have never seen any fighting

like this one. the later 19th century. i think that since the days of the former president, and the ncp party, really strange manners of behaviour and conduct within our military, and those who are working and helping with them like the rs f, they've introduced a pattern of behaviour that is quite unknown in our country. i think they think they can rule by the gun and do whatever, with no accountability, just do whatever they think. mr ambassador, _ whatever they think. mr ambassador, if i could jump in there and ask you, part of the source of this problem is that

the rs f did not want to be integrated into the army. it was part of the agreement that would have been part of the transition. why would the rs f not want to be integrated into the military?— the military? they don't want to be integrated _ the military? they don't want to be integrated within - the military? they don't want to be integrated within the i to be integrated within the military because they do not want to lose the livery that they have. they are a force to be reckoned with. they consider that this force is the only way of protecting themselves and maintaining their position within the political and security establishment. but this is not the truth because on the other side, there are the islamist who are rejecting any reforms and any attempts at civilian removal and they are playing a role in igniting the fire, i think. playing a role in igniting the fire, ithink. i playing a role in igniting the fire, ithink.— playing a role in igniting the fire, ithink. fire, i think. i do want to ask ou fire, i think. i do want to ask you about — fire, i think. i do want to ask you about where _ fire, i think. i do want to ask you about where things i fire, i think. i do want to ask you about where things go . fire, i think. i do want to ask. you about where things go from here. andrew mitchell condemned

the situation. i want to play were clip of what he said. there are heavy weapons being deployed in built—up areas with lots of— deployed in built—up areas with lots of civilians. in the saf and — lots of civilians. in the saf and the _ lots of civilians. in the saf and the rs f, the two military forces — and the rs f, the two military forces involved, showing total disregard for the will and hopes— disregard for the will and hopes of the sudanese people who deserve so much more. do ou who deserve so much more. you agree who deserve so much more. drr you agree with that assessment, that this is total disregard of what citizens want? absolutely, absolutely- _ what citizens want? absolutely, absolutely. regardless - what citizens want? absolutely, absolutely. regardless of i what citizens want? absolutely, absolutely. regardless of the i absolutely. regardless of the wishes of the sudanese people, they want to thwart any attempts, being deployed by the sudanese people, to put in place a real democratic position in sudan, that is what this is all about.— this is all about. we'll have to leave — this is all about. we'll have to leave the _ this is all about. we'll have to leave the conversation l this is all about. we'll have i to leave the conversation there but thank you very much for joining us.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. with a mixture of british and turkish culture, the people of italy came together to help those affected by february's earthquake. sunday's event at a special focus, earthquake. sunday's event at a specialfocus, the earthquake. sunday's event at a special focus, the children who have lost their homes and families. have lost their homes and families-_ families. this is a big contribution - families. this is a big contribution by i families. this is a big contribution by these j families. this is a big - contribution by these people and the children, and this is aged eight years old, it is for aged eight years old, it is for a little girl and as you can see, it's got a beautiful little doll in it.- see, it's got a beautiful little doll in it. more than 50.000 _ little doll in it. more than 50,000 people _ little doll in it. more than 50,000 people were i little doll in it. more than i 50,000 people were killed in the 7.8 magnitude of eight. the organiser lost 11 family members himself in the disaster.— members himself in the disaster. the supporters unbelievable. _ disaster. the supporters unbelievable. we i disaster. the supporters unbelievable. we are i disaster. the supporters i unbelievable. we are doing a shoebox appeal and fundraising event for the children so we

kind of want to put a little smile on the little one's face. people from east yorkshire raised many tens of thousands of pounds and the turkish community says their friendship will never be forgotten. you're live with bbc news. in the state of missouri, prosecutors have charged an 85—year—old white man accused of shooting and injuring a black teenager who mistakenly rang the wrong doorbell. an arrest warrant has been issued for the suspect, his name is andrew lester. this is ralph yarl. he's 16 years old — and had been sent by his mother to pick up his younger brothers, but got the address wrong. ralph yarl�*s lawyer says he was standing on the doorstep when the suspect shot through the door, hitting yarl in the head and arm. protesters have gathered here outside andrew lester's home for a second evening. this is what the county prosecutor had to say about the case. as the prosecutor of clay county, i can tell you there was a racial component to the case. my message to the

community is that in clay county, we enforce the laws and we follow the laws and does not matter where you come or what you look like, or how much money you have, everyone is held to the same standard. ralph's aunt started a gofundme for medical expenses that currently sits at $2.1 million raised in the last 2a hours. in the post, his aunt mentioned that any additionalfunds will be used for his university education. in other news, in a televised speech to the nation, the french president, emmanuel macron, says he hears people's anger over raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 but insists it was needed. his pension reform led to weeks of protests, some of them violent. the launch of the biggest—ever space rocket has been called off at the last minute because of a technical fault. the starship, owned by elon musk�*s company spacex is more than 120 metres high. and staying with elon musk the billionaire has told

fox news he will launch an artificial intelligence platform called "truthgpt," apparently to challenge chatgpt, the chatbot from 0penai. he calls it a — quote — "maximum truth—seeking ai that tries to understand the nature of the universe". now to moscow, where one of russian president vladmir putin's biggest critics, vladimir kara—murza was sentenced to 25 years in jail after he publicly criticised russia's invasion of ukraine. kara—murza, who also has british citizenship, is accused of treason and spreading false information. his conviction is widely seen as politically motivated. the uk government is demanding his immediate release. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, has more. 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, a quarter of a century in prison. access to the court room was heavily restricted. with otherjournalists and with 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'd lobbied western governments to sanction russian officials for corruption and human rights abuses, and he publicly condemned the war in ukraine. mr kara—murza is also a british citizen. the uk hasjoined international condemnation of his conviction. the british government will continue fifth 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. vladimir is a very strong man. evgenia kara—murza is vladimir�*s wife. when she spoke to me from america before the verdict, she was already preparing for the worst. the 25—year prison sentence, i think this is... well, to me, this is the recognition of the effectiveness of vladimir�*s work. they hate him so much, and they're so much afraid of him out there, you know, running free, that they need to lock him up for a quarter of a century to stop him from continuing his work.

another sign of the times in moscow. this famous museum reminds russians of political repression of the past. it's named after soviet human rights campaigner andrei sakharov, but the authorities have declared it a foreign agent and now they're evicting it from the building. their final event feels like a swan song for russian democracy. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. joining me now is director of the center for eurasian, russian & east european studies at georgetown university, angela stent. good evening to you. you have taken part _ good evening to you. you have taken part in — good evening to you. you have taken part in panels— good evening to you. you have taken part in panels and i taken part in panels and discussions with vladimir kara—murza, what is your reaction to this? this kara-murza, what is your reaction to this? as steve said it is an unprecedented - it is an unprecedented sentence, particularly in the post—soviet era. you know, we

should note that the judge who sentenced him was a judge who was on the magnet ski list and he himself, vladimir kara—murza, had campaigned after the death of magnet ski to push russian human rights violators on this list and ban them from travel, certainly to them from travel, certainly to the us. and this veryjudge who also sentenced him has also sentenced kara—murza. it is a sign that the kremlin is so concerned about opposition to the war that this is supposed to deter anyone from speaking out against it. aha, to deter anyone from speaking out against it.— out against it. a 25 year rison out against it. a 25 year prison sentence - out against it. a 25 year prison sentence is i prison sentence is unprecedented. why do you think the kremlin sees kara—murza as a threat? the kremlin sees kara-murza as a threat? �* , ., , a threat? because he has consistently _ a threat? because he has consistently spoken i a threat? because he has consistently spoken out l a threat? because he has- consistently spoken out about russian human rights abuses for years now. he was a friend of an opposition leader who was assassinated and we still don't know exactly who did that and they see people like him as a

threat, particularly during this war because vladimir putin has used this war to crackdown in russia and to stifle all opposition sentiments. you cannot even stand with a blank piece of paper anymore by yourself on the street in a silent protest. this is to really deter everyone else, to intimidate everyone. it is going back to soviet methods and vladimir putin did used to bea kgb and vladimir putin did used to be a kgb agent. i and vladimir putin did used to be a kgb agent.— i want to play you a clip of maria litvinenko speaking to the bbc earlier. she is the wife of alexander litvinenko, who was murdered with radioactive pollonium in london in 2006. because he is is 25 years it means he is a very special hostage. b. means he is a very special hostage-— means he is a very special hostaue. �* . . , ., ., hostage. a valuable agent for russia would _ hostage. a valuable agent for russia would be _ hostage. a valuable agent for russia would be in _ hostage. a valuable agent for russia would be in united i russia would be in united states— russia would be in united states or europe, vladimir would _ states or europe, vladimir would be the first person asking _ would be the first person asking for exchange. this is one —

asking for exchange. this is one hope _ asking for exchange. this is one hope for me and why he receives _ one hope for me and why he receives this enormous sentence. receives this enormous sentence-— receives this enormous sentence. ~ ., ., sentence. so we know that the wall street reported _ sentence. so we know that the wall street reported journals l wall street reported journals also being held in russia. is this a larger strategy of hostage diplomacy? it this a larger strategy of hostage diplomacy? it is partly that. it would _ hostage diplomacy? it is partly that. it would depend - hostage diplomacy? it is partly that. it would depend on i hostage diplomacy? it is partly that. it would depend on which russians would be in a prison in the uk who might be exchanged for kara—murza and the question is there for evident. and he is charged with espionage, not true but that carries a lesser sentence then what kara—murza now has. so it could be that vladimir putin is ramping up his hostage diplomacy but right now the russians would like to exchange someone for a spy who posed as a brazilian who is now in brazil for the a brazilian who is now in brazilfor the man a brazilian who is now in brazil for the man who assassinated a church in dissident in berlin. he is in jail in germany so i do not know how they would arrange those things. but we may see it

coming down the road but i would not be convinced. you must also know that vladimir kara—murza is in bad health. russians have poisoned him twice and apparently they had to postpone this trial because it was not well enough to come to court. . , ., ,., ., to court. that is an important oint. i to court. that is an important point- iwant— to court. that is an important point. i want to _ to court. that is an important point. i want to ask— to court. that is an important point. i want to ask you i to court. that is an important| point. i want to ask you about international reaction to this. the sentence for kara—murza has been condemned internationally in the british government is hoping for his release, the same for the us resident who says he is wrongfully detained. does any of this international pressure have any effect on the kremlin? that pressure have any effect on the kremlin? �* ., ., kremlin? at the moment, no. the kremlin? at the moment, no. the kremlin has— kremlin? at the moment, no. the kremlin has turned _ kremlin? at the moment, no. the kremlin has turned its _ kremlin? at the moment, no. the kremlin has turned its back i kremlin? at the moment, no. the kremlin has turned its back on i kremlin has turned its back on the west with this war and vladimir putin is not interested in better relations with any western country at the moment. so i think it is right to keep up the pressure, all these countries have to do it to keep all of these prisoners in the public eye but i would be dubious that it would have any impact on what the kremlin

does unless it decides said before that there is someone valuable they could exchange for. that valuable they could exchange for. �* ., ,, for. at the end of steve rosenberg's _ for. at the end of steve rosenberg's piece i for. at the end of steve rosenberg's piece we l for. at the end of steve i rosenberg's piece we saw a for. at the end of steve - rosenberg's piece we saw a new cm being shut down, in his words it was like a swan song to russian democracy. what do you think of that? i think he is quite right. the kremlin is now closed down all of these independent centres like memorial dedicated looking into stalin and one for a physicist and a human rights campaigner. a lot of valuable human rights work and it is a message that they will not tolerate any of this anymore and, again, they are really going back to the soviet playbook. not soviet playbook of gorbachev but the soviet playbook of the brezhnev area and beyond. you soviet playbook of the brezhnev area and beyond.— area and beyond. you said it is important _ area and beyond. you said it is important for _ area and beyond. you said it is important for the _ area and beyond. you said it is important for the us _ area and beyond. you said it is important for the us and i area and beyond. you said it is important for the us and uk i area and beyond. you said it isj important for the us and uk to keep up pressure. what opportunity, what avenue is

there then for dialogue with moscow? at the moment moscow has cut off most of the dialogue in terms of the united states. did suspended participation in the major nuclear arms packed. at the moment there are some context between the us and russia on certain issues related to ukraine and also to deter russia from using these nuclear threat. there are other high—level contacts at european government but it is minimal and reduced compared to what it was before the war began. final question, just as some things up, is there any room for any opposition to vladimir putin or the war in ukraine?— the war in ukraine? there really is — the war in ukraine? there really is not. _ the war in ukraine? there really is not. 1— the war in ukraine? there really is not. 1 million i the war in ukraine? there i really is not. 1 million people have left, many who oppose the war, others did not want to be drafted and those who remain

understand that if they speak out they can be arrested and jailed they are draconian laws now so right now the opposition is there but it is silent. angela stent, thank you very much forjoining us. that has been our programme at this hour. we will return to the top of the next hour with more on our headlines. two men arrested in new york for allegedly operating a chinese secret police station and as we heard the latest on the fight in sudan as well, the un is calling for a ceasefire but the fighting continues as we have four respondent who is following the story, civilians have been caught in the crossfire, unable to access food and medicine. it is a humanitarian crisis that the international community is calling for an end to. there have been some diplomatic efforts as well in the last story we just had for you

there, one of president putin's most vocal critics, vladimir kara—murza, sentenced to 25 years injail. those about kara—murza, sentenced to 25 years in jail. those about top stories and more at the top of next hour. thank you for watching. hello there. we've started this week off on a pretty warm note. in fact, many parts of the uk saw the warmest day of the year so far on monday. however, over the next few days, those temperatures will be coming down as we pick up a chilly easterly breeze. and there could even be a bit of rain in places by the end of the week. now, high pressure dominates the scene over the next few days, sitting across scandinavia, bringing this easterly breeze. but more icy bars on the chart mean that easterly wind picks up and we'll start to see these weather fronts rolling in off the near continent, bringing outbreaks of rain, particularly for england and wales, whereas further north it should tend to stay largely dry. now for tuesday morning, we'll start off with a bit of low cloud mist, but that should tend to burn away. many places will see a sunny day, but we'll see thicker cloud for southern and southeastern

areas. and the breeze will be stronger, noticeably cooler, i think, across the board, but certainly down north sea coast. that's because the sea temperatures are pretty low at this time of year, seven or eight degrees. so it will feel cool immediately on the north sea coast, head further inland and again, we're close to the mid—teens, some of the highest temperatures for western scotland, up to the high teens there. so as we move out of tuesday day through the night, we'll start to see further low clouds and mist the rolling in off the north sea once again, especially for england and wales, eastern scotland, clearer skies further west. so it's here where we could see temperatures dip close to freezing two, three degrees. generally for most, we're between four and seven celsius. a little change as we head into wednesday. again, we've got high pressure dominating the scene. it's going to be another windy day, strong easterly winds, so feeling cool again along the north sea coast and we'll see thicker cloud at times rolling in across england and wales. clusters of showers affecting the south of england, certainly the south west, perhaps in towards south wales. but most places will be dry, get a chilly feel to things towards the east, further west where around the low to mid—teens celsius. and then as we move throughout thursday into friday, we start to see more weather fronts pushing in some of these weather fronts, bringing more prolonged

rain at times to england and wales on friday. and again, it's going to be quite cool with a strong east the breeze so temperatures dipping away as we head towards the end of the week into the weekend. and there's a greater chance of many of us, certainly england and wales, seeing some wetter weather.

shipped in beijing is set to release the first set of indicators of china's post covert economy. we have analysis. plus political tensions rise again in the us as republicans criticise president biden over the us debt ceiling. hello and welcome to asia business report, i'm a one. hello and welcome to asia business report, i'm karishma vaswani. markets in asia are awaiting in anticipation for economic

data out of china today because in just under two hours beijing will release its quarterly gdp figures amongst a host of other key data.