live from washington, this is bbc news. two men are arrested in new york for allegedly operating a chinese secret police station. fighting in sudan continues despite 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. the defendants�* actions under the direction of the chinese government are flagrant violations of american sovereignty and thanks to our investigation and arest today, with the fbi, the defendants will be held accountable and the mp5 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. they did that on behalf of china's ministry of public security to routinely monitor and intimidate dissidents in those critical of the chinese government in order to silence them. they allegedly conducted these operations from a floor in an office building in manhattan's chinatown, as you mentioned now, and the key here is that they never notify the attorney general that they were acting as agents of a foreign government as they are required to do. what they did is 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 that they admitted they had deleted their communications with their chinese government official 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. joining me now is isaac stone fish, the founder and ceo of strategy risks, a resarch firm with expertise in chinese politics and culture.2. why would china need to intimidate dissidents in other countries? a surprised apartment of justices there was a secret chinese police station operating for years? are you surprised to hear the department ofjustice says there was. department ofjustice says there wen-— department ofjustice says there wee— department ofjustice says there were— department ofjustice says there was. �* ., ., .,

there was. i'm not. then out a ear there was. i'm not. then out a year ago _ there was. i'm not. then out a year ago alleging _ there was. i'm not. then out a year ago alleging about - there was. i'm not. then out a year ago alleging about the i year ago alleging about the existence of these police stations in these types of actions by beijing globally secrets among people watching. though you are saying police in new york, federal authorities should have shut this down much earlier? ~ , , �* , earlier? absolutely. there's been a lot — earlier? absolutely. there's been a lot of _ earlier? absolutely. there's been a lot of ageing - earlier? absolutely. there's been a lot of ageing and - earlier? absolutely. there'sj been a lot of ageing and the party is done, globally and in the united states, for a long time folks turned a blind eye to with the idea of a positive relationship with beijing and the party and with the political shift in the united states, institutions are doing that much less. we states, institutions are doing that much less.— states, institutions are doing that much less. we know that relationship — that much less. we know that relationship is _ that much less. we know that relationship is not _ that much less. we know that relationship is not so - that much less. we know that relationship is not so positive| relationship is not so positive anymore but why would china need to intimidate dissidents in other countries because that's what the department of justice is saying this secret police station was essentially four. �* ., , police station was essentially four. �* . , . . , four. bei'ing fears criticism and it four. beijing fears criticism and it fears _ four. beijing fears criticism and it fears countries - four. beijing fears criticism and it fears countries like l four. beijing fears criticism i and it fears countries like the united states collecting people or anti— party activities,

anti— party whose or spreading malicious gossip about beijing, all in scare quotes, and they feel like this is a very good use of police resources, because they are afraid of chinese dissidents are speaking out against the party. irate chinese dissidents are speaking out against the party.— out against the party. we have said this is _ out against the party. we have said this is believed _ out against the party. we have said this is believed to - out against the party. we have said this is believed to be - said this is believed to be part of a larger network, so secret police stations being located in the uk and netherlands. do we know of these police stations have had an effect in trying to quash any dissent from the chinese diaspora. any dissent from the chinese diasora. , . ., diaspora. the mere existence of it should and _ diaspora. the mere existence of it should and does _ diaspora. the mere existence of it should and does have - diaspora. the mere existence of it should and does have aged i it should and does have aged act. if you know that ageing or security officials from your home town in china are watching or even potentially could be watching, that often is enough to make you not send that tweet or go to the protester, not write a letter to your elected official. , .,

write a letter to your elected official. , . , , ., official. they are spreading fear among _ official. they are spreading fear among chinese - official. they are spreading . fear among chinese dissidents abroad? yes. if you look at what china has said here, china in the pastors responded to these accusations, saying these are centres that are essentially there to help chinese nationals with things like getting a driver �*s license or certain services that citizens might need abroad. what you need need —— what do you make of that explanation?— what do you make of that explanation? it's very likely the did explanation? it's very likely they did that _ explanation? it's very likely they did that as _ explanation? it's very likely they did that as well. - explanation? it's very likely they did that as well. well. | they did that as well. well. the nefarious purpose is still there and is still very meaningful. probably when someone came in and had an issue with our driver �*s licence or with permits, they be very helpful with that. that in itself might cause —— issues of extra territoriality and other pieces but what the fbi is alleging is the really negative aspects of that police present —— presence in the united states. present -- presence in the united states.— present -- presence in the united states. we know the relationships _

united states. we know the relationships between - united states. we know the relationships between the l united states. we know the l relationships between the us and china is strained. what do these arrests do? it and china is strained. what do these arrests do?— these arrests do? it certainly won't make _ these arrests do? it certainly won't make the _ these arrests do? it certainly won't make the relationshipl these arrests do? it certainly i won't make the relationship any better but we do have to be mindful that the most important act to hear is us laws and protecting people in the united states and i'm glad that us elected and appointed officials are now following those laws and working in that direction as opposed to putting kid gloves on the relationship with china for political and economic reasons. if china for political and economic reasons. if this is art of economic reasons. if this is part of a — economic reasons. if this is part of a larger— economic reasons. if this is part of a larger network, i part of a larger network, isaacs, do you think the international community needs to work more closely together? i think that would be helpful. i think that would be helpful. i think that would be helpful. i think there is this growing sense among western democracies, democracies around the world, about the threats posed not by chinese people by the chinese communist party and further co—ordination and discussion and debate about best practices is almost always a good thing. best practices is almost always a good thing-— a good thing. thank you very

much. 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 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 assaultd 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. the latest update out of the country is that the us secretary of state spoke to the rfs's secretary of state spoke to the rfs�*s needed to discuss missing

issues. 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. actually lived in east khartoum, less than 15 millers away from the military headquarters and airport. we don't have enough food for tomorrow. we only have drinking water for two days from now on we actually are out of tap water. translation: for three days, we've had no food or drink. conditions are miserable. please send help. ferdinand 0mondi is following this story for us from nairobi. so fighting has been going on non—stop, almost non—stop according to united nations and now there are grave concerns that even the vienna convention that seeks to protect humanitarians

and diplomats is 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 and even offices especially in darfur were attacked, shot at and also looted. there was supposed to be a ceasefire tonight but i've seen a post recently from the rsf claiming that they respect the ceasefire but accusing the military side of still not respecting the ceasefire so they said there is a lot of shooting going on, so nothing happened. this is the second night the ceasefire hasn't been respected. there 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 to break their fast because it's the holy month of ramadan. are international calls for a ceasefire, negotiations, having any impact? it does not seem so. here the president of kenya

and south sudan and djibouti authority, egat, to go and negotiate for a ceasefire. the army says the airport is under attack. it's not safe for them. neighbours like egypt and even russia and the iraq have offered support, allies of the militia there. the paramilitary side as well as the government. 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. around the world and across the uk, this around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. meet nina. a keen knitter, she

wants to do something special to mark eurovision taking place in the uk so she spent three months making this dress. and she has even needed a mini graham norton to go with it. i love knitting, i love eurovision and ijust love knitting, i love eurovision and i just thought, what can i do to put the two together and i had this mad idea and everybody said, don't be ridiculous. we address of all the lags in countries of eurovision, what are you talking about? so if somebody tells me i can't do something, that's when i pick up my needles and off i went. shall we take some more photos? absolutely. we started at abercrombie square which is to be named abba—cromby square in honour of the event. and then finally a visit whether big event is taking place. it’s event is taking place. it's conna event is taking place. it's gonna of _ event is taking place. it's gonna of end _ event is taking place. it's gonna of end of- event is taking place. it's gonna of end of our- event is taking place. it�*s gonna of end of our pilgrimage. we've needed, mated the holy grail. —— it's kind of the end

of our pilgrimage. we've made it, we made it to the holy grail. now to moscow, where one of russian president vladmir putin's biggest critics, vladimir kara—murza, has been sentenced to 25 years in jail after he publicly criticised russia's invasion of ukraine. kara—murza is accused of treason and spreading false information. the uk government is demanding his immediate release. 0ur 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 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. to alabama now, where four people have been killed and 28 others have been injured in a shooting at a teenage birthday party in the town of dadeville. there's been no information on the motive. the bbc�*sjess parker sent this report. what happened ? what happened? confusion and fear, the routine _ what happened? confusion and fear, the routine gun _ what happened? confusion and fear, the routine gun violence l fear, the routine gun violence in america, devastating for a community and alabama. police tape hiding what you can hear, the sound of horror and grief. four lives were lost in a tragic event that occurred here in a developed. as far as the injuries, there are 28

individuals who were injured in the course of the event. thea;r the course of the event. they were out _ the course of the event. they were out to — the course of the event. they were out to celebrate - the course of the event. they were out to celebrate a - the course of the event. they| were out to celebrate a sweet 16, which became a fatal crime scene stopping most of the victims, dead and wounded, it is believed, were teenagers. philstavious dowdell was 12 lose his life as bullets ripped through the night at his own sister's birthday party. ilil" sister's birthday party. our thoughts — sister's birthday party. our thoughts and _ sister's birthday party. oi" thoughts and prayers are with all the families. there are just are no words to describe the emotions we are all feeling. the emotions we are all feeling-— the emotions we are all feelina. ~ ., , ., ., , feeling. millions of firearms are in circulation _ feeling. millions of firearms are in circulation in - feeling. millions of firearms are in circulation in this - are in circulation in this country is not some, it's part of the nation's promise of freedom. for others it is a kind of madness that is costing the lives of america's children. in the state of missouri, prosecutors have charged a 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 said, he was standing on the doorstep when the suspect shot through the door, hitting yarl in the head and arm. tonight, president biden spoke by phone to ralph yarl, and shared his hope for a swift recovery. 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. in count one, the defendant andrew lester is charged with a class a felony of assault in the first degree in that on or about april 13th he caused physical injury to ty by shooting him. this felony

carries with it a range of punishment of up to life. in count two, the defendant is charged with armed criminal action. this is an unclassified felony, and carries with a range of punishment between 3-15 range of punishment between 3—15 years. the state is alleging the defendant committed the felony of assault in the first degree charged in count one by, with and through the knowing use, assistance and aid of a deadly weapon. as a result of these charges, a warrant was issued for mr lester's arrest and bond was set at $200,000 stopping my understanding is that mr lester is not in custody stopping the arrest warrant was recently issued. it is my understanding that the appropriate law enforcement agencies have this information and are taking appropriate action. is the prosecutor of clay county i can tell you there was a racial component to this. 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 from or what you look like or how much money you have. everyone is held to the same standard. and missouri police have now released a photo of the suspect andrew lester. the 84—year—old has been charged with first—degree assault and armed criminal action. here in washington, senator dianne feinstein is facing pressure to resign because of health concerns. she's 89—years—old, and has been off work for the past two months with a shingles infection. but she plays a key role in the senatejudiciary committee, and her absence means the senate hasn't been able to approve president biden's judicial appointments. there are 1ajudicial nominees who are waiting to be confirmed by the committee. now, senate majority leader chuck schumer says he's considering a temporary replacement for senator feinstein's position. but, democrats need 60 votes in the senate to do that. and republican lawmakers

have made it clear, they won't give them that. let's break it all down with benjy sarlin. he's the washington bureau chief for semafor. he isjoining us for the latest on this story. thanks for being on this story. thanks for being on the programme. is there any chance that senate republicans will go along with this? whatever slim hope that democrats have were pretty much dashed today when the senate came back after recess and republican after republican, including some of the more moderate members, some of the members who tend to be more procedurally conservative and traditional and sometimes work with the other side to make the senate function, they all made clear there is no chance they are going along with some kind of temporary replacement in order to appointjudges that, you know, all of them do not want appointed. they see this for pretty much what it is which is democrats trying to get her to either resign or step aside temporarily in order to confirm relatively liberal

judges that republicans do not want on the bench. so judges that republicans do not want on the bench.— judges that republicans do not want on the bench. so what does that mean _ want on the bench. so what does that mean for— want on the bench. so what does that mean for democrats? - want on the bench. so what does that mean for democrats? whatl that mean for democrats? what options do they have? fine options do they have? one 0 tion options do they have? one option is — options do they have? one option is just _ options do they have? one option is just convince - options do they have? iiie: option isjust convince dianne feinstein to resign. this is now one of several moments in the last few years where a senator has been in a sort of gradual decline as she moved up the ranks, now currently the oldest member in the entire senate in which pressure has built up on her to either not run again for office which was the case a few months ago or step down from the judiciary committee which she used to run as recently as 2020 because kind of anonymous grumblings from staff, from other senators eventually started spilling into the open that they were concerned about her ability to do thejob. this is concerned about her ability to do the job. this is very much the same situation, where there are whispers while she is away dealing with health problems, about as she ever going to come back? can we count on her to come back and consistent vote through thisjudges

come back and consistent vote through this judges which is really the main task for senate democrats through this entire congress. this is really the number one priority and we started seeing some of that spilling over to the press and then into the open when some members of congress actually called on her to resign so we will see if that pressure makes a difference but in the meantime the options are extremely limited, unless she regains her health and comes back. ~ . , regains her health and comes back. . . , , ., , back. what is dianne feinstein sa in: back. what is dianne feinstein saying about — back. what is dianne feinstein saying about this? _ back. what is dianne feinstein saying about this? is - back. what is dianne feinstein saying about this? is seattle i saying about this? is seattle changing her position on resigning?— changing her position on resigning? she put out a statement in the - resigning? she put out a statement in the face i resigning? she put out a statement in the face of| resigning? she put out a - statement in the face of calls to resign saying that she did intend to come back, that she was recovering, she did not put any kind of specific date or timetable on it, however, and some democratic senators, this is a body that relies a lot on tradition, on respect for members, on veneration for elder members, democrats are often reluctant to push her openly to resign. they see it as kind of perhaps less than classy but also possibly

counter—productive, that putting too much pressure might make her defy it and you end up in a stand—off that gets worse. so it is a very delicate situation for everyone involved, a lot of senators have a tremendous amount of respect for her career which is over five decades in elective office, she was the mayor of san francisco, she ran for governor, she's been a senator since 1892, she has authored signature legislation like this since expired assault weapons ban, there is a lot of respect for her career but the longer this goes on, the democrats cannot eat their top priority of confirming judges, the more open pressure will likely get. what does this tell us about how razor thin these majorities are? how razor thin these ma'orities are? , . ., �* . are? they couldn't get much thinner. democrats - are? they couldn't get much thinner. democrats passed l are? they couldn't get muchj thinner. democrats passed a fairly robust agenda with a 50-50 fairly robust agenda with a 50—50 majority from 2020, after the 2020 election. this current congress is 51—49 but it has several independents including joe manchin who is in a very

conservative state, the democratic senator from west virginia and he is frequently voting with the other party and a maximum of these con nation fight. there is also the independent christian cinema who sometimes breaks with the party so democrats have to be very careful with this majority. it is not to be counted on.— majority. it is not to be counted on. �* counted on. and if there were to be, counted on. and if there were to he. lets — counted on. and if there were to be, let's say _ counted on. and if there were to be, let's say the _ to be, let's say the republicans were to say ok we will go along with a potential replacement for senator feinstein, do we know who that possibly could be? i feinstein, do we know who that possibly could be?— possibly could be? i don't think there _ possibly could be? i don't think there was _ possibly could be? i don't think there was one - possibly could be? i don't i think there was one obvious name stopping for a while it was discussed, it was speculated, without much actual sourcing that may be republicans would go along with a replacement if it was one of the members they considered more moderate, more conservative among the democrats who might vote with them on somejudges democrats who might vote with them on some judges that they considered more extreme or more fringe or had red flags of some kind but they made clear this isn't about who democrats select. ~ ., ., select. ok. we will have to leave it there _

select. ok. we will have to leave it there are, - select. ok. we will have to leave it there are, thanks l select. ok. we will have to l leave it there are, thanks so much forjoining us on the bbc tonight. and that's our programme at this hour, thanks for watching bbc news. 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.

what will britain do to try to secure his release? this is bbc news. we'll have the latest headlines and the latests stories for you after this program. northern ireland, a small place of only 2 million people, has again captured the attention of the world. presidents and prime ministers past and present have been getting into the province to join in celebrations for a political agreement signed here 25 years ago. supporting the people of northern ireland, protecting the peace, preserving the belfast good friday agreement is a priority. it's regarded as the day that helped and decades of violence here during the 1970s, �*80s and �*90s.