this is bbc news. the headlines: armenia says more than 28,000 people flee nagorno—karabakh. us officials describe their stories as "harrowing". us officials ask for international —— us officials ask for international access. an agreement on artificial intelligence is among the terms in a tentative deal between hollywood studios and writers. water companies in england and wales to repay customers £114 million by reductions to household bills after failing to meet targets. and sea ice in antarctica shrinks to its lowest levels since records began. let's bring you a developing story this hour. the wall streetjournal is reporting the first terms of a tentative deal between hollywood studios and screenwriters. it's believed studios have retained the right to train ai models on writers�* work, but writers are expected to be compensated for their work. let's cross live now to los angeles and talk tojoe flint,

one of the reporters who broke the news. good to see you. tell us more about the deal. . ~ good to see you. tell us more about the deal. ., ~ , ., ., ., the deal. thank you for having me. basicall , the deal. thank you for having me. basically, artificial— the deal. thank you for having me. basically, artificial intelligence - basically, artificial intelligence was one of the big sticking points in all these negotiations. the writers were very reluctant to cai being used by the studios for fear of theirjobs, the studios felt like this is our script, we need to be able to train ai this is our script, we need to be able to train al to use them, and basically on that committee studios — from our reporting — will be able to do that ——, the studios. they could do that already, it was not a concession they were going to make. that said, writers will get credited for work even if ai is helping on that work. you have to credit a human being. it is a middle of sorts. there is still so much with al we don't know yet. i certainly ai we don't know yet. i certainly understand both sides wariness about it, but the studios, once i sell my

script to a movie it is theirs, and it is their idea what to do with it. there is grounds for lawsuit later if i feel it is misused or used for something that was not approved for at the time. these strikes by writers have ground much of hollywood's work to a halt over the last few months, even awards ceremonies and promo nights. does that mean the strikes are over and things are back on track as normal? , , ,., . ~ normal? things will be getting back on track, normal? things will be getting back on track. but _ normal? things will be getting back on track, but we _ normal? things will be getting back on track, but we are _ normal? things will be getting back on track, but we are still— normal? things will be getting back on track, but we are still a - normal? things will be getting back on track, but we are still a little - on track, but we are still a little ways from normal. the writers of the board of the writers guild, will vote on the proposal of an hopefully they vote yes, andy wj will tell members they can go back to work, but the actors are still on strike. the writing can continue, but the actors are on strike, and that is the next target for the studios. they need to cut a deal done with

the actors, and that hopefully production in full can begin. probably, if everything goes well, maybe i thanksgiving. jae. probably, if everything goes well, maybe i thanksgiving.— probably, if everything goes well, maybe i thanksgiving. joe, it feels like this might _ maybe i thanksgiving. joe, it feels like this mightjust _ maybe i thanksgiving. joe, it feels like this mightjust be _ maybe i thanksgiving. joe, it feels like this mightjust be kicking - maybe i thanksgiving. joe, it feels like this mightjust be kicking the i like this mightjust be kicking the can down the road, because ai is here and it is going to get bigger, whether we like it or not. is this reallyjust whether we like it or not. is this really just a short—term whether we like it or not. is this reallyjust a short—term solution to a long—term issue for the writers? certainly with the case of ai, i would agree with you. the good thing or bad thing the pain on how you would look at it is these deals they signed are only for three years, so it will not be very long again till we have a lot more knowledge about al -- we have a lot more knowledge about al —— depending on how you look at ai —— depending on how you look at it. the writers and studios have to come up with a newjewel about how it is used. come up with a new “ewel about how it is used. , ., come up with a new “ewel about how it is used. g ., ., , it is used. 0k, joe flint “oining us from los angeles, _ it is used. 0k, joe flint joining us from los angeles, thank- it is used. 0k, joe flint joining us from los angeles, thank you - it is used. 0k, joe flint joining us from los angeles, thank you for. from los angeles, thank you for joining us for now. water companies in england and wales have been ordered to repay customers a total of £114 million, after failing to meet key targets.

the industry's regulator, 0fwat, said firms aren't performing well enough on issues such as leaks and reducing pollution. the money will be returned by reductions to household bills. 0ur environment correspondent jonah fisher has the details. this is the water companies' end of year report. written by regulator 0fwat, it assesses their performance against a number of indicators such as plugging leaks, the quality of the water supply and whether they have managed to reduce the number of pollution incidents. for most of the 17 companies, it's not pleasant reading. there is no top of the class this year, with none getting the highest score. ten were rated as average and seven told they are lagging behind. poor performance comes with financial consequences. thames, the uk's biggest water company, is firmly bottom of the class. it reported an increase

in serious pollution incidents and will have to hand back about £100 million next year. if shared out equally among its customers, well, it is pocket money — a bit more than a fiver — and will be swallowed up by other inflation—linked rises. water and sewage here in wales is a bit different to england. it is run by a not—for—profit company, but its performance still isn't good. it has failed to hit its targets for stopping leaks and has been rated as lagging by 0fwat and told to pay back £24 million to its customers. several water companies have been judged to be doing so well that they can charge customers more next year. severn trent will get an extra £88 million, much to the disbelief of this wild swimmer in shrewsbury.

i'm pretty surprised that they are being rewarded, yes, because there is still sewage spilling into the rivers. we are trying to swim in the rivers and clean them up. obviously, it is notjust the sewage and notjust the water companies that cause pollution problems, but to see any water company being rewarded while there are still sewage spilling into the river doesn't seem right at all to me. responding to 0fwat, the water companies' trade body water uk looked for the positives. there has been important progress in some areas. for leakage, that is down 7% since 2020, come down every year since the start of the decade. next week, the water industry will be producing its plans for massive investment in infrastructure. if that is approved, bills will rise still further. jonah fisher, bbc news, in cardiff. just some breaking news from here in the uk, and in the last few moments,

alex sharma, the mp for reading west who served as president of cop26 has posted on social media to say that he will not stand at the next general election. he has posted a photo of his letter, his statements, rather, saying... he described having served as an honour of his life. he was the president, as i said, of cop26, the climate summit of the window was held in glasgow in 2021 and previously served as secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy. as i said, alok sharma there, and people reading west, posting on social media on x, formerly known as twitter, that he will not be seeking reelection at the next general election —— mp for

reading west. satellite images show that sea ice around antarctica this winter shrank to its lowest level since records began. the reduction, byjust over a million square kilometres, equates to an area the size of egypt easily beating the previous record low in 1986. scientists say the sea ice never fully recovered from its record summer shrinkage. the loss of pack ice directly affects breeding penguins and other animals, but it doesn't raise ocean levels because it is already formed of sea water. earlier, i spoke to climate ice scientist robbie mallett. he told me why cic is so critical to sustaining life in antarctica. —— cic.

sea ice is really the linchpin of so many systems in antarctica. the ecology is one really big thing, so a lot of birds like penguins depend on it, but also microorganisms like phytoplankton and krill that sustain the whole food web above them. they really rely on the light being blocked out actually by the sea ice in the summer and their timing of breeding is regulated by that. but what really worries scientists at the moment is that the sea ice around antarctica is very, very reflective to sunlight. and when it disappears, the ocean just soaks up that heat because it's a very dark surface. so, warming of the region can melt ice sheets, glaciers, things that really do contribute to sea level rise. it's mildly terrifying to hear that an area the size of egypt is the reduction we're talking about. what do you notice, just when you look out the window where you are? yeah, we've been here since march, and the sea ice has been really, really thin and very ephemeral. so as soon as it shows up, a big gust of wind canjust push it down into the water and melt it. so it's frustrating for our science, in terms of what we can actually learn from this kind of sea ice. but it's also dangerous for us to work on. so it's been a very difficult season for us. well, tell us more about that. how does this affect

your work and your research? so our main goal is to go out on the sea ice, walk around on it or ski on it when it's thin and measure it with radar instruments and also thermometers and various laser scanners. so we end up spending full days out on the sea ice. but as soon as a gust of wind comes up, especially when it's blowing off the shore into the sea, we have to be really concerned aboutjust being blown out to sea. so normally, there will be helicopters and boats on standby. but in the antarctic winter, things are a little bit different and we have to be a lot more cautious. tomorrow, we are expecting the glacier monitoring group in switzerland to release their data showing annual glacier loss there. last year, that reached a record high of 6% glacier loss. that, combined with the loss we're seeing here in antarctica, what does that tell us about the bigger picture? yeah, we're still pulling together the picture from this year for the sea ice. but we are still seeing a really alarming trend. since 2016, we've seen persistently low sea ice extents and the data is starting to emerge as well that it's thinner than usual. and certainly sea ice surrounds the continent of antarctica and it almost protects those floating ice shelves that themselves protect the ice sheets from sliding into the sea.

so it's a very sensitive interplay between the ocean and the glaciers in antarctica. and we have really good reason to be worried about the conditions this year. that is climate ice scientist robbie mallett, joining us from antarctica earlier on. ukraine is seeking to establish whether a senior russian naval commander was killed in an attack on crimea last week. on monday, kyiv said the leader of russia's black sea fleet was killed by a missile strike on their headquarters. russia, though, insists admiral viktor sokolov is in fact alive. sokolov appeared via video link in a meeting between russian officials just a day after ukraine claimed he was dead. the video images have not yet been verified. the russian defence ministry says the meeting took place today. with more, here's our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse. it's not confident language coming from the ukrainian special forces today. i think it stops short of rowing back, but in a statement, they have said they are looking

for clarification, citing what they now call "open sources" when they claimed that 3a senior officers, including admiral sokolov, were killed in this missile strike last friday. now, we had the initial claim from kyiv yesterday, this triumphant claim as to the senior officers who have been taken out, they say, but we had no evidence to accompany that. and this is always the issue when we're talking about deep into russian—occupied territory. and today, this morning, the kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov said, "we have nothing to say about the claims coming out of kyiv, "in regards to who may or may not have been inside the naval "headquarters in sevastopol," which is such a significant command structure and location for both russia's occupying forces and as well as in terms of a desirable target for ukraine. and then we have this statement from the special forces, which says, basically,

"we're going to double check," after footage was released by russia's defence ministry, as you say, of what they say was a recent meeting where you can see admiral sokolov dialled in on a video call. and again, even with the meeting, it is difficult to verify just when it took place and whether it was indeed admiral sokolov appearing on the large screen on the wall. and even by the standards of this information war, this has been a particularly difficult one, where, typically, even if there is a falsehood put out by one side, you won't see the other instantly correct it, for example. there is a bit of a nuance here, there is a typical game that is played, but it is clear that russia has wanted to respond quickly. whether that response is true or not, just with kyiv�*s claims yesterday, it's too early to tell. james waterhouse in ukraine for us there. around the world and across

the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. as the children play in their first—floor flat, mum gina worries the living conditions here are making them sick. mould keeps coming back. when we visit, it's again been cleaned off. but 19—month—old esme here hasjust had her third case of bronchitis, she may need an inhaler and doctors warn mould could well be contributing. these are homes in rudloe, near corsham in wiltshire. just around the corner, jo has been told hanging washing up would make the conditions even worse, not that she's got much choice in an upstairs flat in autumn. i have broken windows. i have draughty doors. i've got rotten floorboards. a spokesperson for the landlord greensquareaccord said, "the health and safety of our customers is our top priority "and we take reports of damp and mould extremely seriously." they said surveyors are carrying out a review of all the homes like these, which had previously been earmarked for demolition before a redevelopment scheme fell through.

for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. good to have you with us. the boss of audio streaming giant spotify says its platform has no plans to ban content created by artificial intelligence. spotify founder and chief executive daniel ek told the bbc there are valid uses of the tech in making music, but ai should not be used to impersonate human artists without their consent. he sat down with our technology editor, zoe kleinman. you have so—called deep—fake ais, where someone's impersonating some famous artist, etc. and our view is obviously that is not positive, and we believe that... say, something in the drake/weeknd case, that drake and weeknd should be able to decide what kind of content they want to put out in the world, what they stand for.

so you have no immediate plans to ban ai generated content from the platform? no, we have no immediate plans. and, in fact, it wouldn't even surprise me that, if we look at the top chart of spotify today, that there's legitimate use of ai done by artists, and we would allow for them. and then there's the ones where it's clearly someone trying to steal someone's name or likeness or even infringe on someone's ip — at which point we would say, that is not ok, that is not what we stand for, and we would take that down. you've been very critical of apple's practices, haven't you, in the past? and you still are... yeah. ..a critical voice. 0ur beef is really around allowing for a level playing field, a fair playing field. apple decides what innovation goes and doesn't go. it taxes all innovation on the internet on this point, and it doesn't have to follow the same rules themselves. and so what we — all we are asking for is they can charge whatever

fee they would like, so long as it was possible for us to not be in their store and download the app onto the iphone anyway. apple would say that what you're paying for is the security that it provides, and this enormous audience of iphone users that it has. it's giving you access to a marketplace that nobody else can access and would argue that it's worth it. what would you say to that? 4 billion consumers around the world and probably 80% of uk consumers — the primary way they're accessing the internet is through their smartphones. and the primary way they're accessing the internet is through apps on smartphones. and so this is the internet at this point. and that's why, from a principal standpoint, it's really important for me, it's an important business issue for spotify, but i believe it will be very important for the future innovation and for other developers. spotify�*s invested a lot in podcasting. you had some big names —

you had the 0bamas, you had the duke and duchess of sussex. they released 12 podcasts in two and a half years. was that worth £18 million? we thought new innovation was needed to happen here. we thought, we can come in and offer a great experience that both makes consumers very happy and allows new creators new avenues to build new podcasts. and we've succeeded with that. now, in part of that, we also signed lots and lots of new podcasters to this medium. and the truth of the matter is, some of it has worked, some of it hasn't. we're learning from those and we're moving on and we wish all of the ones we didn't renew with the best of success that they can have going forward. and you can read more about the founder of spotify�*s chat with our technology editor is 0bi kleinman on the bbc news website. —— zoe

kleinman. the actor david mccallum has died at the age of 90. for those of a certain age, he will always be the mysterious soviet agent illya kuryakin in the 1960s american tv series the man from u.n.c.l.e. his six—decade career began in radio and went on to include films such as the great escape. 0ur entertainment correspondent david sillito has been looking back at his life. for a certain generation, david mccallum was and always will be illya kuryakin from the man from u.n.c.l.e.. like my friend napoleon, i go and i do whatever i am told to. quiet, enigmatic, good—looking. just a wave and a rare smile were enough for the hundreds of teenage fans who found david irresistible. the fan worship was rather overwhelming for a man who was himself quiet, thoughtful and serious. the background that i had made me very reticent. very, very scots. i think this is where the word "dour" comes from, that you're not... you don't show emotion. it's a very inhibiting thing.

50 years later, he was once again back in prime time as dr donald "ducky" mallard in ncis. 0ur victim succumbed to a cerebral embolism here in the parietal lobe. if you wanted someone who looked as though they could solve fiendishly complicated mysteries, he was your man. and he loved doing the research to make it look convincing. clots will develop over a period of minutes or hours. see you in piccadilly. scots bar. his career also took in the great escape, colditz and the strange science—fiction of sapphire and steel. take it downstairs and burn it. he was also a musician — he released this in the �*60s... ..which was later sampled by... ..dr dre and snoop dogg. but nothing ever really topped the man from u.n.c.l.e. david mccallum — in the cold war, he was the west's

favourite russian agent. david mccallum, who has died at the age of 90. you're watching bbc news. an nhs trust has apologised after it failed to send out 211,000 letters to patients and their gps because of a computer error. newcastle hospitals said the problem, which dates back to 2018, is significant — and the health care regulator has asked for assurance that no—one's treatment has been delayed as a result of the mistake. sharon barbour has the story. the unsent letters date back to 2018, when a new computer system was introduced. many are discharge summaries, which explain what the care was that the patient received in hospital and what medications the patients need to now take.

but there are also a significant number of unsent letters from specialist clinics which may spell out that urgent treatment is needed. all these letters are vital for a patient�*s continuing care. it is very important because, one, we will have the results of the investigations, that is very significant. and also, frequently, there are tests which have been undertaken, blood tests and scans and so forth. so it's very important that we know the result of that. and also once the patient has been to the outpatients, medication, tablets, what is going to be prescribed in future for the patient? so how has this happened? it appears that when it comes to discharge summaries, at least, one person would draft it and prepare it for a second person to sign the top. that second person had to make sure that on their computer, they changed their status to signing clinician. if they didn't, the discharge summary wouldn't leave the hospital as the consultant expected it to.

instead, it went into a separate folder that one consultant told me they didn't know existed. it was hidden. an action plan now sent to the cqc says the trust will immediately deal with a 6,000—letter backlog from the last year alone. more than 1,200 of those relate to medicine and emergency care. consultants have also been asked to record incidents of patient harm as a result of the backlog. in a statement, newcastle hospitals trust said, "a review is under way. if any concerns are identified, we will inform patients and their gps directly. we are taking this issue seriously and we are working quickly to put things right." the cqc says after receiving concerns from staff, they took immediate action to understand the extent to which people may be at risk, and evidence of the steps being taken to review

the impact on patients. sharon barbour with that report there. now take a look at this. this gentleman is the leader of a town council in wiltshire — trowbridge town council, to be precise. and this is a gargoyle that looks rather like him that has appeared on a three—storey building at the centre of a planning row. who put it there? danjohnson has been finding out. this is the face of a planning row that's turned ugly — a builder's dissatisfaction set in stone. and here's the fine figure who's the focus of his frustration. i think it was intended to rattle me somewhat, but i can see the humorous side of it. planning permission any more or less likely now you're a part of the building?! well, there are some people suggesting it ought to automatically be listed, but...! no, it shouldn't have any effect on it. builder michael started work three years ago but had planning permission refused, then lost an appeal. he thinks he's victim of a council vendetta.

they're making it personal, they're trying to say, "do what we say or we'll pick on you." they're making it personal?! you're the one with the gargoyle! ah, but the gargoyle's meant in the right frame of mind, it's not nasty. you're bending the rules, you're breaking the rules? no! i'm trying to put right the rules. the rules are wrong. we have consulted the authorities, and we are told it is not in fact a gargoyle because it is not spouting water. it is a grotesque. whatever — it's certainly got people talking. the gargoyle? keeps me awake all night. i think it's brilliant. i like the fact that it's sticking its tongue out. that's how we all feel, isn't it, really? towards the council? well, towards a lot of people! i think it's actually _ really arrogant from the builder. i think it's out of order. this long—running row�*s heading to court next month. michael may huff and puff but says he won't let

the council blow his house in, not by the hairs of this chinny—chin—chin. danjohnson, bbc news, trowbridge. right, that is it from me for now. you stick around. christian is up next with the context. in the meantime, here is the weather with stav danaos. hello there. the day's heavy rain and showers will continue to ease away through this evening, and overnight it will turn a lot drier for many with lengthy, clearskies, lighterwinds, particularly across the northern half of the country. that'll make it turn quite chilly across some of the scottish glens. but it's all change to the south. we're looking at this system deepening as it's approaching ireland. this is storm agnes. now, this will start to throw up some cloud in towards southern and western areas as we move through the night and the wind will start to pick up here as well. so temperatures are on the rise here, in fact — the low to mid—teens here — but a chillier night to come across the north. so storm agnes, then, likely to bring some impacts

to western parts of the country on wednesday, with rain and gales. we could see severe gales around some of the irish sea coasts as this storm moves its way northwards, but it will be weakening as it continues to move northwards. by far, the biggest impacts will be across central and southern parts of ireland. but around irish sea coasts, like i mentioned, we could see 60 to 70 mile an hour gusts, maybe a bit more than that. north—west wales, pembrokeshire, north—west england and south—west scotland, favoured spots for some of the strongest gusts. heavy rain also spinning northwards with the strong winds as we move through the morning, into the afternoon, eventually pushing across into scotland. but much of central and certainly eastern and south—east england will avoid all the action and, in fact, stay largely dry. it will be breezy, but there'll be some sunshine. top temperatures, 22 degrees here, but further north and west, around the mid—teens, with the gales and the rain. the strong winds, the gales, the rain push northwards across scotland. storm agnes eventually exits the uk in towards the norwegian sea by the end of the night. but a fairly mild night to come. temperatures in double figures for most. so to thursday, then.

we're in between weather systems. there are more ganging up on us as we head into friday and the weekend, generally affecting northern and western areas. but thursday actually doesn't look too bad. the winds still a feature, but not as strong as what we expect on wednesday. there'll be some good spells of sunshine around, but i think cloud will tend to build through the day and we'll start to see another frontal system pushing into the west. that'll bring rain to northern ireland, scotland, perhaps western england and wales by the end of the day. a little bit cooler, i think, across the board. 20 degrees at best in the south—east, mid—teens further north and west. and then like i mentioned, there will be further frontal systems moving into northern and western parts of the country. better chance of staying dry this weekend in the south.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. illegal migration is not merely an event—driven or cyclical problem, it is a permanent and structural challenge for the developed nations in general and the west in particular. need it is not the reform of the convention which remains as applicable as ever, but what is needed is international political will and commitment to abide by the obligations for refugees under the international legal framework. suella braverman would have expected labour have said i that the home secretary is simply trying to distract her from her- failures in the asylum system. the british home secretary calls for a global debate on tackling illegal migration.

in that speech in washington today suella braverman said the way asylum