hello, i'm caitriona perry. you're very welcome. we begin with a developing story — the ukrainian army says it has withdrawn from a key eastern town to avoid encirclement by russian forces. the town of avdiivka is a gateway to the russian occupied city of donetsk. the retreat comes after months of fierce fighting. it's the biggest change to the conflict's front lines since may of last year. in a post on facebook, ukraine's commander in chief, oleksandr syrskyi said: a ukrainian soldier had recently said that the situation in avdiivka had, at times, been worse than in bakhmut — a town that fell to the russians last may. just a day ago, we aired a report by the bbc�*s andrew harding from avdiivka. given these latest events, we wanted to show you a clip

from that report that foreshadowed the withdrawal. have a look. these troops are increasingly pinned down and struggling. in the ditch here, a wounded soldier needing urgent help. so, what's going wrong for ukraine after two years of war? a simple answer can be found a few kilometres away. a ukrainian artillery team. last year, these men were firing 80 shells a day at russian positions around avdiivka. not any more. so, these are the last two shells that you have? "yes," says the officer in charge, "and these two "don't even work." the news of ukraine's withdrawal comes as the world responds to the death of one of the most vocal critics of the war, alexei navalny. the a7—year old russian

opposition leader has died in prison, according to the country's prison service. mr navalny was recognised internationally for risking his own life to stand up to mr putin's regime. his cause of death is not yet known. prison officials claim he died after going on a walk. many world leaders on friday condemned the russian president for navalny�*s death and for the years navalny had spent in prison while his condition deteriorated. make no mistake — putin is responsible for navalny�*s death. putin is responsible. what has happened to novelli is yet more proof of putin's brutality. —— what has happened to navalny is yet more proof of putin's brutality. we should hold putin accountable for this and we should be under no doubt about the regime in russia. russia has serious . questions to answer. alexei navalny has been i a strong voice for freedom,

for democracy for many years and nato and its allies have l called for his immediate release for a long time. | the world has lost a freedom fighter in alexei navalny. we will honour his name. and in his name, we will stand up for democracy and for our values. translation: putin does not care who dies as long - as he retains his position. he must not keep anything. he must lose everything. he must not retain anything. he must be accountable for what he has done. we're alsojust hearing from former us president barack obama. he writes that navalny was a: there's been an outpouring of grief for navalny around the world. people have come together at vigils, laying flowers and lighting candles next to photos of navalny from europe, to south america, to here in washington.

hundreds of people gathered outside the russian embassy in the us capital to pay respects to navalny and speak out against putin. vigils also took place in states from the former soviet bloc, like this one in georgia, as well as armenia and lithuania. and in russia, despite a stark warning from the kremlin for russians to avoid mass protests, people still showed up to pay their respects in st petersburg and moscow, visibly upset. our steve rosenberg spoke with some of them. at first, my reaction was it was just a joke at first, my reaction was it wasjust a joke and at first, my reaction was it was just a joke and not real but then, the news came and more and more and more and i was crying, like, for one hour. what was your reaction when you heard the news about his death? i was with my friends. i was broken.

i really thought that it couldn't happen. like, never. maria snegovaya is a senior fellow with the europe, russia, and eurasia program at the center for strategic and international studies. shejoins us now. thanks for being with us. president biden as we heard clearly blames president putin for alexei navalny�*s death and the un says the state is responsible for the state is responsible for the death of an inmate in custody. what is your reaction to the death of alexei navalny, as we have heard reported by russian authorities?- russian authorities? people worldwide — russian authorities? people worldwide who _ russian authorities? people worldwide who supported i russian authorities? people. worldwide who supported the fight for freedom against tyranny and autocracy mental two heartbroken to hear this news. it's not completely unexpected for most of us because of russian politics because of russian politics because unfortunately because of his return back to russia in early 2021, navalny essentially has become a prisoner of putin, a hostage, and there is rumours that efforts to change navalny

for other unintelligible people in russian western policymakers were attempting were rejected on the side of the kremlin because probably the kremlin wanted to unintelligible navalny under control and destroy navalny. he navalny under control and destroy navalny.- navalny under control and destroy navalny. he was the leadin: destroy navalny. he was the leading opposition _ destroy navalny. he was the leading opposition figure. i destroy navalny. he was the i leading opposition figure. with his death and so many other leaders either in exile or in prison, where does that leave the opposition movement in russia, given the elections are just one month away? honestly, nobody expected _ just one month away? honestly, nobody expected that _ just one month away? honestly, nobody expected that these - nobody expected that these elections would be anything, resembling a real election. the only candidate who was running openly and anti—war platform was recently banned from running and it's clear that putin feels very completely unpunished and not facing any resistance series resistance and he is clearing to get rid of the position including this

horrible rid of navalny because he is feeling in control of the situation. unfortunately russian opposition is in disarray and there is arguments and most importantly a lack of unintelligible hope that navalny was a friend to many people in russia and outside of russia in a lot of ways navalny was extremely creative, highly talented, a politician that russia has never had so in a lot of ways he was completely unique and certainly a courageous and heroic as demonstrated by his return to russia and most importantly his behaviour injail unintelligible prison in russia he provided really inspirational uplifting letters that he sent back to his supporters which really served unintelligible. right now unintelligible. right now unintelligible moment where it seems like both russia, russian inside the country and the world more broadly is failing to contain the russian regime the horrible regime that unintelligible spreading unintelligible spreading

unintelligible outside of russia unintelligible ukraine. 0n russia unintelligible ukraine. on that point, there's been much international outcry today but what options are there for international leaders to do more thanjust share international leaders to do more than just share those words? more than 'ust share those words? ~ , , ., , more than 'ust share those words? ~ , , ., more than 'ust share those words? ~ , ., ., words? absolutely, one and most im ortant words? absolutely, one and most important thing — words? absolutely, one and most important thing right _ words? absolutely, one and most important thing right now - words? absolutely, one and most important thing right now is - words? absolutely, one and most important thing right now is to - important thing right now is to support ukraine because as we see right now the world clearly is divided into black and white. there is tyranny and fight for freedom against tyranny. but we need to help ukraine to do this fight pick up ukraine to do this fight pick up where russians domestically unintelligible pro liberal—minded russians have unintelligible failed unfortunately unintelligible failed u nfortu nately i unintelligible failed unfortunately i think we will probably it's sad to say that and ukrainians right now heroically tried to stop putin his military�*s influence and that way all of the world that supports freedom needs to supports freedom needs to support ukraine. it's really heartbreaking to see the situation with the ukraine packaging congress that's been stuck in the house these days which unfortunately has left

unintelligible ukraine losing in avdiivka. it's very important to counter the kremlin otherwise agree one is left with complete impunity and when he feels completely uncontained he does horrible things as we have seen with navalny�*s murder. things as we have seen with navalny's murder.— things as we have seen with navalny's murder. very briefly, we only have — navalny's murder. very briefly, we only have a _ navalny's murder. very briefly, we only have a few— navalny's murder. very briefly, we only have a few moments, i navalny's murder. very briefly, i we only have a few moments, you mentioned avdiivka. how big a blow is it to the ukrainian offensive to have withdrawn from there?— from there? avdiivka was strategically _ from there? avdiivka was strategically important i from there? avdiivka was| strategically important for your claim but more important what is symbolised as unintelligible if putin is committed to give unintelligible because the west is divided and failing to pass aid to this country that is struggling to contain unintelligible russia and the kremlin that is why it is extremely concerning the two years into this horrible war when everyone is clear what the putin regime represents we are finding ourselves in the west in complete disarray, it's very frustrating and i hope we will be able to overcome this. maria snegovaya.

thank you very much forjoining us. thank you very much for “oining us. . ~' thank you very much for “oining us. . ~ , ., here in the us, a judge has ordered that donald trump and his trump organization pay $354 million in penalties in a landmark new york civilfraud case. the judge's order also puts a three—year ban on mr trump serving as an officer or director of any new york corporation. the former us president and his two adult sons were found to have massively inflated the value of their properties to get better loans. for more, our north america editor, sarah smith sent this report. this is a political witch—hunt... ..witch—hunt... it's a witch—hunt. .. ..witch—hunt... i've been going through a witch—hunt for years. donald trump's fame and fortune are based in new york real estate — that's why he chose his beloved trump tower from which to launch his political career. now, his lies about the value of his properties have led to a massive fine and seen him banned from running a business in new york for three years. his lack of remorse throughout the case was described by the judge as "pathological".

his lawyer has responded, saying: mr trump says his mar—a—lago estate in florida is worth over $1 billion. more like $18 million, said the court. when valuing his own penthouse apartment in trump tower, he claimed it was three times its actual size. this fraud scored trump better rates on loans and insurance deals. during the trial, he said there was no victim and no crime. these loans were all paid off, just so you understand that. they were all paid off. these aren't loans that are due or defaulted on at all. we never even got a notice of any difficulty. the bank, deutsche bank, was extremely happy — they testified they were extremely happy. they paid their full money and some of the loans were paid off early. this is just a witch—hunt.

inside as well as outside the courtroom, donald trump raged against the charges. judge engoron has ruled his irrelevant speeches and refusal to answer questions directly severely compromised his credibility. the attorney general, letitia james, did run for office promising to get trump — whom she called a "con man" — and he says she only brought this case because she hates him. the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers and numbers, my friends, don't lie. both of donald trump's sons, eric and donjunior, were also on trial. they've each been fined $4 million and banned from running a new york business for two years. it is just three weeks since another court awarded the writer ejean carroll $83 million in damages from donald trump for defamation. now, he has another enormous fine to pay. costs are mounting up and he still faces four criminal trials later this year. sarah smith reporting. for more, i'm joined

by the former manhattan assistant district attorney, jeremy saland. thanks indeed forjoining us. a fine of more than $350 million against the former president. put it into context for us, how does that some stack up against others awarded a similar cases in the past?— in the past? you'd be hard-pressed - in the past? you'd be hard-pressed to - in the past? you'd be hard-pressed to find | in the past? you'd be| hard-pressed to find a in the past? you'd be - hard-pressed to find a similar hard—pressed to find a similar case, so it's staggering number evenif case, so it's staggering number even if they were such a case. one thing that inaudible some credibility is something like this when it's the public who are the victim. you know, not private industry or banks so this is atypical for that reason and also atypical because we have the former president so it's hard to compare but the numbers are pretty staggering matter how look at it. ., , .,, look at it. donald trump has also been — look at it. donald trump has also been banned _ look at it. donald trump has also been banned for- look at it. donald trump has also been banned for three i also been banned for three years for serving for an officer or director of any new york operation. what's going to mean in practical terms for his business empire? it

mean in practical terms for his business empire?— business empire? it really is inaudible _ business empire? it really is inaudible to _ business empire? it really is inaudible to put— business empire? it really is inaudible to put it - business empire? it really is inaudible to put it nicely i inaudible to put it nicely because now for the next three years he cannot, his children two years, cannot get a loan for a bank. as two years, cannot get a loan fora bank. as a two years, cannot get a loan for a bank. as a compliance director and a monitor that are in place to ensure inaudible look over any inaudible you cannot operate the company or cannot operate the company or cannot be that leader, that boss inaudible generic terms are directed to run that company so if you don't have the ability to be your company, which is donald trump's brand and who he is, he that company, it really makes it sort of non—existent and keep in mind he can't then create a second trump organization and sort of transfer power over to that organisation. assets to that organisation. assets to that organisation. it is across the board so it's hobbling. he has siunalled board so it's hobbling. he has signalled his _ board so it's hobbling. he has signalled his intention - board so it's hobbling. he has signalled his intention to - signalled his intention to appeal. what are his options? in new york, he has 30 days to file an appeal or notice for an appeal, excuse me, that's easy but he will do that but you

could take months or potentially years. does it mean certain states cannot inaudible prevent certain things are moving forward that the judge is putting his decision? his penalty and punishment? that could happen but it will take a lot of time and he is likely going to have to put up some sort of bond, let's use 10% for example. 10% of 35 "30 $.5 ——30 $.5 million is a lot. inaudible rich and wealthy as he says he is and this is a collective penalty than he should be able to find the money but it's going to take some time but i would also remind people who are listening we've heard about delay, delay, delay on these criminal cases inaudible opt all the approach, he will want to push this inaudible.— he will want to push this inaudible. ~ ., ., , , , he will want to push this inaudible. ~ ., ., ,, , ,., inaudible. what happens if you cannot -a inaudible. what happens if you cannot pay the — inaudible. what happens if you cannot pay the fine _ inaudible. what happens if you cannot pay the fine ultimately? l cannot pay the fine ultimately? you know, i don't think you've what happens if you can't, i think he will, i don't think it is in his wheelhouse inaudible

whatever you think his wealth is it certainly is at least that much and he is not going to hide that and i don't see donald trump is the person who's going to cower melt away and inaudible face of something like this or say he can't make those payments so i don't see that happening. i see ultimately he will put it to the end, and he has every right to like any other american, any other person but ultimately, agree to pay that. can other person but ultimately, agree to pay that.— agree to pay that. can his campaign _ agree to pay that. can his campaign funds _ agree to pay that. can his campaign funds for - agree to pay that. can his campaign funds for any i agree to pay that. can his campaign funds for any of agree to pay that. can his - campaign funds for any of this, should he used to? h0. campaign funds for any of this, should he used to?— should he used to? no, this is totally separate _ should he used to? no, this is totally separate and _ should he used to? no, this is totally separate and distinct, i totally separate and distinct, this is a civil proceeding that has nothing to do inaudible while he was serving in office. likewise if we look at the manhattan criminal case, that's similar. ultimately whatever happens with those inaudible whatever the number comes down to $100 million, and i am making things up, i don't know if it will change a penny, able paper personally as mother whoever else is responsible according to the decision. jeremy saland. thank you so much forjoining

us with all of that here on bbc news. ~ , , ., , let's turn to some other news from around the world. the presidents of france and ukraine have signed a security pact in paris that guarantees kyiv an aid package worth more than $3 billion this year. the agreement was announced during a visit by volodymyr zelensky to paris. it follows a similar pact announced by germany and a promise by g7 countries last year to set up such arrangements with ukraine to help boost its its long—term security. senegal�*s president macky sall has said he will hold a presidential vote "as soon as possible". the announcement comes after a week of violent protests against a bill that would have delayed february's elections until december. on thursday, senegal�*s constitutional court ruled against the delay. at least three people have died in recent demonstrations. two juveniles have been charged in connection to wednesday's shootings at the super bowl celebration in kansas city, missouri. one person died and more than two dozen others were injured when shots were fired during the chiefs' victory parade.

police say several weapons have been recovered. the incident began as a dispute among several people outside the city's main train station. us presidentjoe biden says he's continued to call for a temporary ceasefire to allow the release of hostages still being held by hamas. it comes after israeli's raid on the main hospital in southern gaza, where staff and patients were forced to flee under gunfire. joe biden said he'd had extensive talks with israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu about a humanitarian pause. technology giants have agreed to tackle what they are calling "deceptive artificial intelligence" in elections. the tech accord was announced at the munich security conference and included companies that are building generative ai models used to create content, including 0penai, adobe, google and microsoft, as well as social media platforms, including meta, tiktok and x. more than 60 countries will go to the polls this year and concerns are growing about how to protect the public

from deepfakes that could sway their vote. it's something that president of microsoft brad smith hopes to tackle. all of us then have products like microsoft microsoft designer, you can use to create images or say images or video using ai. it embeds the data so anybody can see when they display something like a picture. how was it created, what product was used, when was it created? and so, it tells somebody this was created by ai. now, we're going to have to do more by that because we will need to embed invisible watermarks as well so that if people strip out that data, we still have the ability to identify it for what it is. earlier, i spoke tojeffrey mcgregor, ai tech accord signatory and ceo of truepic, a group working to establish digital transparency. thanks forjoining us on bbc news. your company has joined

with 19 others of the leading tech firms in the world to agree to work to countdown and deceptive generative ai, a grand ambition. before clampdown. how big a threat to use see at present all of the elections taking place around the world this year?- elections taking place around the world this year? thank for havin: the world this year? thank for having me- — the world this year? thank for having me. we _ the world this year? thank for having me. we see _ the world this year? thank for having me. we see it - the world this year? thank for having me. we see it as - the world this year? thank for having me. we see it as a - the world this year? thank for| having me. we see it as a very big threat is the short of it. this is about mitigating the most obvious downside and risk to the most exciting and transformative technology of our generation. and the tech accord comes at an extremely important time is billions of people had to the polls this year and at a time when the security threat of deceptive media has simply never been higher. media has simply never been hiaher. , ., , ., , higher. given how believable some of this _ higher. given how believable some of this material - higher. given how believable some of this material looks i higher. given how believable i some of this material looks and sounds, how are you actually going to achieve that? we really believe _ going to achieve that? we really believe in _ going to achieve that? - really believe in a fundamental approach of transparency in where digital content originates from and the history of the digital content over

time. and truepic has been an active member and participant in building an open standard colby c2pa which is a technical mechanism for being able to establish the origin in transparency in all digital content and it's something that all of the companies that are involved in the tech accord can opt into implementing to create a more transparent ecosystem. but who decides whether something is may be designed as a piece of comedy, a piece of satire, putting some well—known figures saying something funny for the purposes ofjokes, that's been around since the internet was invented. who decides what is ok like that and what is potentially damaging?— and what is potentially damauain? . �*, ., ., damaging? that's a great question _ damaging? that's a great question and _ damaging? that's a great question and it's - damaging? that's a great question and it's really i damaging? that's a great| question and it's really for the consumer to decide. consumer ultimately makes that decision. what we believe is that the consumer should have access to information on simply where content originated from.

did it come from an ai system? was by a computer or was it created by a human? the mechanisms that we have in place and that open specifications like the c2pa enable is just information about where content is originating from. so the consumers ultimately have to make their own decisions on what content to trust and whether it is for the purpose of satire or otherwise. that's not for tech companies to decide. �* ., . ., , ., decide. and how much do you need national _ decide. and how much do you need national governments i decide. and how much do youj need national governments to assist you with this? the eager�*s ai act is almost law but there is nothing remotely comparable in the us, for example. i comparable in the us, for example-— example. i think the legislation _ example. i think the legislation is - example. i think the legislation is going i example. i think the l legislation is going to example. i think the - legislation is going to be impactful here but what i think we are seeing right now is that legislation cannot keep up with the pace of ai, which is why this tech accord is so important. you have the largest companies in the world opting in to take this action and to be responsible with their use

of ai without the need for legislation to ultimately come in and enforce that. so i think this is really a critical step for the ecosystem that can have impact in 2024 which is simply we don't think legislation will have. . . . . ., we don't think legislation will have. . , have. the tech accord is focusing _ have. the tech accord is focusing on _ have. the tech accord is focusing on election - focusing on election specifically but what about deceptive ai in other strands? misrepresentation of businesses, reputational attacks on public figures or even image misuse on those who are not politicians but who are well—known? i are not politicians but who are well- known ?_ are not politicians but who are well- known ?— well-known? i think that's the ri . ht well-known? i think that's the right question _ well-known? i think that's the right question to _ well-known? i think that's the right question to ask. - well-known? i think that's the right question to ask. in - right question to ask. in relation to the tech accord, i think it's very good that the tech accord is focused. i think that gives us the best chance to really understand the scope of the problem and be able to create momentum in 2024 but the challenge of deceptive media extends far beyond just political challenges and deception that we are working on in 2024, it extends to every facet of digital content and

you may have seen 0penai an automatic recently and when you look at these videos, you can start to extrapolate how in 1—2 years where the quality may add and the ability may be to truly alter through society's perception of reality, it's going to be pervasive across the entire inaudible ecosystem. there may be a need for more technical than more far—reaching agreements into the future. we it there for the future. jeffrey gregor, ceo of truepic, thanks forjoining us on bbc news. truepic, thanks for “oining us on bbc news._ truepic, thanks for “oining us on bbc news. thanks for having me, i appreciate _ on bbc news. thanks for having me, i appreciate it. _ before we go, let's recap what we know about the reported death of alexei navalny. the prison service of the region where he had been serving his sentence announced earlier on friday that he'd died. navalny was an outspoken critic of president putin. he had been in russianjail since 2021 on charges widely viewed as politically motivated. us president biden said putin is responsible for the death. putin's spokesman said russia's penitentiary service is looking into what happened,

but provided no further information. and remember, our coverage continues online. you can find our live page with the latest news and analysis from our correspondents in the region and around the globe. that's all at bbc.com? news. thank you for watching, i'm caitriona perry. stay with us here on bbc news and take care. hello there. once again, it's been another week that's been dominated by some wet weather at times but when we have had the sunshine, it's felt pleasant enough. and some of us on friday had a beautiful scene, just like carmarthenshire. hope you made the most of it, though, because particularly out to the west, the start of the weekend looks decidedly unsettled with more wet and windy weather arriving. ahead of it, we'll see quite a lot of cloud and the cloud thick enough for a spot or two of light drizzle that'll be easing away from north east england and eastern scotland. misty, murky conditions behind and then, some heavy rain by the middle part

of the afternoon, so a west—east divide as we go through the day. some of the rain will be quite heavy. still quite mild with it — 14 degrees. you can see across south east england and east of the pennines, we may well continue to see some brief glimpses of sunshine. but the rain through wales, stretching up through north west england, northern ireland and western scotland will turn increasingly heavy, accompanied by gusts of winds potentially around 40 mph. a little bit fresher as well into the north—east of scotland but generally, that mild theme set to continue. now, as we go through saturday evening and into the early hours of sunday morning, our weather front will continue to sink its way steadily south and east. the heaviest of the rain is likely to be now through the midlands and down towards south east england, and that's going to take its time to clear. so during the early hours of sunday morning, expect a spell of wet weather. that'll probably still be there across east anglia and south east england for early birds on sunday but it will start to ease away through the middle part of the morning. a few scattered showers tucking in behind and then,

sunday generally will be a case of sunny spells, a few isolated showers and still relatively mild for this stage in february —10—14 degrees the high. now, as we move out of sunday into the new working week, once again, we will see spells of wet weather at times. brief drier interludes to follow. by the middle part of the week, we'll see a spell of particularly wet and windy weather right across the country and that will have an impact on the feel of the weather. we'll lose that mild southwesterly flow, a northwesterly returns. cooler story for all from midweek onwards. so, planning ahead — might be a mild, relatively sunny start but it'll be wet and windy through the middle part of the week and then, colder air to follow behind.

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