and cate blancett talks to the bbc about her �*deep concerns' on the use of ai and its role in the film industry. hello, i'm kylie pentelow. we start in syria, where fighting has erupted in aleppo for the first time since rebel forces were forced out of the city by government troops in 2016. the army says dozens of its soldiers have been killed or injured, and islamist rebels are now reported to control the majority of the city. we've just received these pictures of rebels patrolling the streets and celebrating outside

this was the centre of aleppo in the early hours, after russian and syrian warplanes intervened in support of government forces, bombing rebel positions. russia is an ally of president bashar al—assad's regime. the rebels�* offensive has made rapid progress since it began on wednesday, capturing numerous towns and villages. the syrian military says troops have been temporarily withdrawn from aleppo "to prepare a counteroffensive". a reminder of the recent history of aleppo — the city was the scene of one of the bloodiest sieges of syria's civil war, which first broke out in 2011. this week's offensive is the largest against the syrian government in years.

just three days from launching a surprise offensive... this is the most serious offensive to president assad in years. translation: the city of aleppo has been liberated. _ the rebels are led by... it controls most of the north—western province, the last remaining opposition stronghold after a decade of civil war. that war began in 2011 triggered by properly processed. russia intervened in 2015, turning the tide against the advancing rebels. the

battle for aleppo in 2016 was a crucial turning point. the war has mostly gone quiet since, with occasional eruptions. the last major one in 20... when russia and its allies attacked a lib. the kremlin is a sad's most important ally. one reason the rebels were able to advance so quickly... there are fears now that they may be reigniting the embers of the long—running civil war.

our middle east correspondent lina sinjab gave us more details about the russian airstrikes. well, this offensive started on wednesday by the rebel jihadist rebels sweeping through several towns and cities, including reaching most parts of aleppo. so it was expected that government forces and russians to start some sort of defence. and that's what happened overnight with russian airstrikes against rebel, you know, forces. and this time in the city of aleppo. we're still not sure quite where exactly and if there are any damages. and what are the, you know, death toll after these airstrikes. but this is a sign that both the government and the russians have moved to push the rebels back. and we're still watching to see how this back and forth battle will unfold. and who's going to, you know, remain and control the power in aleppo, although we've seen also reports that, you know, the opposition who used suicide car bombs to advance towards the city of aleppo faced little resistance

from government forces. and there were some words for the army to pull out to have tactical withdrawal from different parts of the city as well. it's being reported that three workers from the american—based food charity world central kitchen have been killed in a drone strike in gaza. images from khan younis show the wreckage of a white vehicle with its roof blown open. the israeli army confirmed they had targeted a car in the southern city of khan younis and said they had killed an october 7th attacker. the charity has not yet commented on the attack. here in the uk, senior doctors providing end—of—life care are urging ministers to "fix" palliative services, after mps voted in favour of legalising assisted dying for terminally ill people in england and wales.

the association for palliative medicine wants the government to set up a commission to examine how to improve the care its members provide to patients. it is warning about the impact of a lack of funding and poor co—ordination of services. the department of health has been asked for comment. here's our health correspondent, catherine burns. after 11.5 hours of debate, it came down to this. the ayes to the right, 330. the noes to the left, 275. the ayes have it, the ayes have it. | unlock! outside parliament, campaigners were waiting anxiously for news and then forsome, celebrations. but also a bittersweet moment, with others wishing this had come in time for their loved ones. my dad took his own life because he could no longer endure the pain that he was in. um, you know, my whole family, the whole experience could have been different. we could have talked about it together. you know, we could have sat down and could have been calm. we could have been with my father at the end. and, i mean, ultimately,

my sister wouldn't have had to have found him after he took his own life. this question has always been divisive, and some people are devastated. i think it has an impact on people who are vulnerable, who will very quickly go from having a right to die to having a duty to die. this bill would only be relevant to certain people. they'd have to be over 18, registered with a gp in england and wales and be expected to die within six months. they must have the mental capacity to decide and clearly express their wishes. it's also worth highlighting who wouldn't be impacted — anyone under 18, people who are in pain but not with a terminal diagnosis, or who are not mentally capable of deciding this. this result might be historic, but it's not law yet and it might never get to that stage. the next step is a lot of scrutiny and dealing with unanswered questions, like how can doctors definitively say that someone only has six months

left to live? how to protect vulnerable people who might feel pressurised into doing this. how much will it cost and how will it be funded? but really, at the heart of this is one key question — how can people have the best possible death? palliative care can help make people comfortable at the end of their lives. about 450,000 people across the uk need it every year. they don't all get it, though. about 100,000 have to go without. some argue the government should be prioritising this. we would encourage them i to start a conversation, um, about putting this right, - about making making palliative care something we can be really proud of. - um, what concerns me is that now that this bill is passed, . there may be less impetus to do that _ and also, we know there i is a finite amount of money to be used for the nhs. but mps backing the bill think it's helping to focus

attention on palliative care. of course, assisted dying is not a substitute for palliative care. it is not an either—or. we have some of the best palliative care in the world in this country and when it can meet the needs of terminally ill people, it is second to none. but surely when it cannot, the choice of an assisted death should be one component of a holistic approach to end—of—life care. this conversation is far from over. even if the bill does become law, it would take two or three years for an assisted death in england or wales. catherine burns, bbc news. vote counting in ireland's general election has begun, after an exit poll put the three main parties virtually neck and neck a final result isn't expected until the end of the weekend. chief presenter caitriona perry is in dublin for us. the votes have all been sorted into piles, the ballot boxes are open

and the count staff behind me are just waiting to get those piles of votes again, to start assigning them to each of the candidates running in each of the constituencies here. this is a nervy part of the day for politicians, waiting to see those first preferences assigned to the various candidates. there have been tallies of the votes, which is an organised system between the parties where they're looking over the shoulders of those counting these ballots, and they look like being more or less in line with what we saw from the exit poll last night. that poll of about 5,000 voters showing fianna fail, fine gael and sinn fein in and around on the same level of support. that's broadly in line with what opinion polls had been showing, and indeed is in line with the current situation of the outgoing parliament, where those three parties just have a couple of seats dividing each of them. we should expect to have the first seats filled in the early afternoon here and then it could be late

on sunday, perhaps even early monday before all of the seats are filled. after that, then the difficult business of actually forming a government. no party is going to have an entire majority. so we're looking at another coalition government here as well. as to the makeup to that, though, that's when the real horse trading will begin. whether it's fianna fail and fine gael, the two parties who are currently in government with the green party, they'll need some support of some smaller parties or some independents to get to that majority position. sinn fein, for its part, has said it intends to try and make a government as well, with some of those left—leaning smaller parties and independent candidates. if that happens, of course, it would be the first time in the history of the state that sinn fein would be in power. but before we get to that point, we have to get all of the seats filled, the 174 seats in the parliament here in ireland, and we'll have an idea of that in just a few hours�* time.

an ex—director of harrods has told the bbc that mohamed al fayed manipulated managers to conceal his crimes and sacked those he could not control. jon brilliant worked at the luxury department store from 2000 to 2002. he said al fayed plied him with $50,000 of cash in envelopes, which he believes was an attempt to control him. he gave ben king this exclusive interview. how did mohamed al fayed get away from with his crimes for so long. i away from with his crimes for so long- ...— away from with his crimes for so long. i opened it up and it was $5,000 _ so long. i opened it up and it was $5,000 in _ so long. i opened it up and it was $5,000 in cash. - so long. i opened it up and it was $5,000 in cash. i - so long. i opened it up andj

it was $5,000 in cash. i asked why i was being given this. someone said, in their judgment, he was trying to get you to compromise yourself. he was trying to get you to come back and say, oh i spent money on drugs, or i spent money frolicking, doing some thing i shouldn't be doing. and then he would then use that information against you if you should have against you if you should have a turn on him. i'm certainly aware of people who succumbed to the temptation. the envelopes _ to the temptation. the envelopes of _ to the temptation. the envelopes of cash - to the temptation. the envelopes of cash continued for six months. mr brilliant didn't spend them and try to give them back. about a year later from the private phone call was quoted back to him in a meeting. i quoted back to him in a meeting-— quoted back to him in a meetinu. , ,, ., meeting. i get goose bumps on meeting. i get goose bumps on m neck meeting. i get goose bumps on my neck realising _ meeting. i get goose bumps on my neck realising that - meeting. i get goose bumps on my neck realising that my - my neck realising that my phones were being listened into. ,, ., , phones were being listened into, ,, ., , ., phones were being listened into. ,, ., , ., into. shortly after he was sacked- _ into. shortly after he was sacked. mohammed - into. shortly after he was sacked. mohammed al i into. shortly after he was l sacked. mohammed al fied into. shortly after he was - sacked. mohammed al fied fired dozens of managers to prevent

challenges to its power. do you think the management culture made it easierfor him to get away with the things he did? when i look back i can understand that construct, let's provide money to see if people can be trusted, to see if they will compromise themselves so that... where you ever made _ themselves so that... where you ever made aware _ themselves so that. .. where you ever made aware of— themselves so that... where you ever made aware of any - ever made aware of any allegations of sexual assault against mohammed al fied? home against mohammed al fied? none whatsoever- _ against mohammed al fied? none whatsoever. in _ against mohammed al fied? none whatsoever. in terms _ against mohammed al fied? none whatsoever. in terms of _ against mohammed al fied? none whatsoever. in terms of my - whatsoever. in terms of my experience there not one. do ou experience there not one. do you ever _ experience there not one. do you ever regret not doing more. i can't say there is one specific thing or one individual thing thatjumps individual thing that jumps out, and individual thing thatjumps out, and you think man, if i havejust pulled on out, and you think man, if i have just pulled on that thread... have just pulled on that thread. . ._ thread... harris did not respond _ thread... harris did not respond to _ thread... harris did not respond to mr -

thread... harris did not| respond to mr brilliant's claims. it has previously said it is a very different organisation to the one controlled by mohammed al fayed. now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. england's cricketers are on the verge of inflicting a rare defeat on new zealand in christchurch, after the third day of the first test. the tourists had built a first—innings lead of 151 and then threatened to embarrass the new zealand batters, by reducing them to 64—3 before kane williamson launched a rescue act. but a crucial two wickets in three balls for chris woakes broke the resistance, and it means the hosts are just four runs ahead, with only four wickets left. therefore england should be chasing target within their reach when they take to the crease in their second innings. that partnership tomorrow morning... if they can get into their work early, i think especially now that the ball has gone a little bit softer, i

think it showed that the new ball is really dangerous. and onceit ball is really dangerous. and once it does flatten out you can put things under pressure. hopefully we can build on that lead and give us something to bowl for the last day. the premier league action continues over the coming hours, with arsenal away at west ham. raheem sterling hasn't played much football since joining the gunners, but mikel arteta says you can expect that to change. i would like to see him more, to be fair, and this is down to me. he is trying his best. his application, commitment, has been exceptional. now it is time for me to give him more minutes. four other games in the premier league alongside that one. incoming leicester manager ruud van nistelrooy will be in the stands as he watches his new side, away at brentford. crystal palace take on newcastle. nottingham forest are up against ipswich, and gary o'neil�*s wolves face his former club bournemouth. on to formula one — with the drivers�* title race now, and lando norris will be on pole for the sprint race this afternoon in qatar, as his mclaren team aim

to win the constructors championship. mclaren are 2a points clear of ferrari in the table for that title. norris finished ahead of fellow briton george russell, with his mclaren team—mate oscar piastri third. world champion max verstappen will start sixth. great qualifying today, especially to bounce back from where we were last time in vegas, a nice thing to do. happy, it was a decent lap, made many mistakes in my second. but we were coming here to get pole and we got that, so job done for today. in nfl news, the kansas city chiefs secured a playoff spot in the afc, thanks to a 19—17 victory over the las vegas raiders. patrick mahomes became the franchise�*s career leader in touchdown passes as he helped the reigning superbowl champions to a slender win while the raiders continued their losing streak which now runs to eight. for mahomes, he knows his team can improve.

we just hold ourselves to such a high standard, we don�*t feel like we�*re our best football altogether and it seems like everyday, defence is good, vice versa, we have to find a way to build up and play great as a full entire team, find ways to get wins, that is what we are going for. but our goal is to get to the super bowl so we will continue to get better and better so we are we will be playing our best football by the end of the year. and that�*s all the sport for now. alex salmond dared to dream, the words of his former lawyer and adviser duncan hamilton who was speaking at the memorial service of the former leader of

the snp, 400 people attended the snp, 400 people attended the event at st giles�* cathedral in edinburgh. alex salmond died last month in north macedonia at the age of 69. we can speak to our scotland corresponded. let�*s speak to our scotland correspondent lorna gordon. many hundreds of invited guests at st giles�* cathedral here earlier on today, among them the former prime minister gordon brown, the current first ministerjohn swinney, also musicians, the proclaimers played a song during the service, as did doogie maclean, played his unofficial anthem caledonia, a very moving service at times for a man who scotland�*s fourth first minister, took the country close to independence in the referendum in 2014. kenny macaskill, leader of the alba party, the party that mr

salmond set up when he left the snp, described mr salmond, who was also his friend, is a giant of a man. he could have succeeded _ a giant of a man. he could have succeeded in _ a giant of a man. he could have succeeded in any _ a giant of a man. he could have succeeded in any professional l succeeded in any professional walk— succeeded in any professional walk of— succeeded in any professional walk of life. such were his talents. _ walk of life. such were his talents, energy and ability. in politics— talents, energy and ability. in politics he could have risen to the very— politics he could have risen to the very top in any party. indeed. _ the very top in any party. indeed, there are many offers put indeed, there are many offers our to— indeed, there are many offers put to him by the established british— put to him by the established british parties. but he forsook them — british parties. but he forsook them alt _ british parties. but he forsook them all. doing so for scottish independence, his guiding light, _ independence, his guiding light, his north star, his lifes— light, his north star, his life's work, notjust his lifes— life's work, notjust his life's ambition. and he came so close _ life's ambition. and he came so close to — life's ambition. and he came so close to achieving it. one person who was not there was nicola sturgeon, she was alex salmond�*s protege and succeeded him as first minister, she said her thoughts are with his family. today is a sad day for them, she said, but she hoped it would allow them to remember alex in the way

they wanted to. another discordant note, when the first ministerjohn swinney at the start of the memorial service, he was met with cheers but also jeers and shouts of traitor from some in the crowd who had gathered outside the cathedral to pay their respects. a sign perhaps of the fact that this once very united movement for scottish independence has suffered challenges in recent years, thatjust one slight discordant note in a day that was all about the life, times and legacy of alex salmond. authorities in nigeria say 27 bodies have been recovered from the scene of a boat accident in central kogi state. at least 24 survivors have been rescued and are receiving treatment at various hospitals. more than 100 people are still missing. it is the third such accident in nigeria in the last two months.

georgian police have used water cannon and tear gas against demonstrators who turned out in their thousands near the parliament building in tbilisi for a second night running. police say 107 people have been arrested. georgia�*s pro—western president, salome zurabishvili — who�*s at loggerheads with the ruling party — said in a televised address that the "resistance movement" had begun, and she stood by it. the protests were sparked by the georgian dream party�*s decision to put off accession talks with the european union until 2028. the actress cate blanchett has spoken to the bbc of her �*deep concerns�* about the use of artificial intelligence in the film industry. speaking to laura kuenssberg, she said the issues facing wider society were even greater.

i think it is very real, you can now completely, the voice will happen first and the image comes second. you can totally replace command if anyone can give any person, whether they are tall not, if you have recorded yourself, just be 30 seconds now i think there�*s 304, you can be, your voice can be replicated. i am deeply concerned. yeah, of course, and it is happily pointless, you see these tesla robots and you think, our film looks like a sweet little documentary compared to what is going on in the world. there are some things when you think, that will benefit humanity, and i�*m looking at those robots going, and driverless cars, and there arejust certain going, and driverless cars, and there are just certain things i think... i am

there are just certain things i think... iam not, jen, iam there are just certain things i think... i am not, jen, i am a very curious human being, —— i am not a curmudgeon. i don�*t know what that is bringing anybody. sometimes it isjust experimentation for its own sake, which is creativity when you look at it in one way, but it is also incredibly destructive which is the other side of creativity. d0 destructive which is the other side of creativity.— side of creativity. do you think, side of creativity. do you think. can _ side of creativity. do you think, can you _ side of creativity. do you think, can you see - side of creativity. do you think, can you see a - side of creativity. do you think, can you see a day| side of creativity. do you - think, can you see a day where actors actually can be replaced by ai creations? does that worry you? i by ai creations? does that worry you?— by ai creations? does that wor ou? . ,, . worry you? i am less concerned with my job _ worry you? i am less concerned with my job prospects - worry you? i am less concerned with my job prospects than - worry you? i am less concerned with my job prospects than i - worry you? i am less concerned | with my job prospects than i am with myjob prospects than i am about the impact it is going to have on the average person on old—age pensioners, you know, people who are already working three jobs to try and be below the poverty line. that is my concern. i am worried about as as a species, it is a much bigger problem. this you can see the full interview on sunday.

with laura kuenssberg on bbc one at nine o�*clock tomorrow morning, plus, of course, on the bbc iplayer. stay with us here on bbc news. you can keep up—to—date with all our stories on our website but for now do stay with us. a big change in the weather, mild air back along with plenty of cloud and moisture, a bit of a damp and misty feel, this continues through the weekend, plenty of dry weather but some outbreaks of rain at times, mostly tomorrow. st andrew�*s day, some of the best sunshine is across north—east areas of scotland, generally to the north and east of high ground.

weather front north and east of high ground. weatherfront queue in north and east of high ground. weather front queue in the wings, a brisk southerly wind picking up through the day, scooping up the male. temperatures are above the seasonal average. temperatures are above the seasonalaverage. for temperatures are above the seasonal average. for the rest of this afternoon, breaks in the cloud across parts of aberdeenshire, down to the east of the pennines, north—eastern areas of wales and to the east of high ground in northern ireland as well. when picking up ireland as well. when picking up through the day, it would have mist on some western hills, spots are those about him which is generally between 12 and 15 celsius. keeping the strength of the southerly south—westerly wind as we head through tonight, outbreaks of rain moving from northern ireland into western scotland, down through wales and central southern england as we head into tomorrow morning, a view clearly spells following on behind but it is a mild night across—the—board. for many, across—the—boa rd. for many, temperatures across—the—board. for many, temperatures mostly in double figures. taking a brief look across sunday, this weather front pushing further eastwards, bringing outbreaks of rain, heavy showers, some

brighter conditions towards western areas across northern ireland, western scotland, wales, central southern england, the south—west by the time we get to the afternoon but watch out for a rash of showers. across east anglia it is cloudy for much of the day with further showers as we go through the afternoon. it does stay mild, attempted again 12-14 c. that is stay mild, attempted again 12—14 c. that is about to change because on sunday night into monday we draw down a northerly wind with some cold arctic air, so there will be a drop in temperature and then as this front gradually pieces southwards on monday, across parts of the pennines and the scottish hills, the risk of some transient snow. temperatures started to date, critically was northern areas as we head through monday, we will keep the double figures in the south, but generally turning cooler into the start of next week, quite unsettled at times then turning milder by thursday and friday. goodbye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... russian and syrian jets have bombed islamist rebels, after they seized most of syria�*s second city aleppo. it comes after the insurgents continued their surprise four—day offensive. syria�*s military has acknowledged dozens of casualties among its forces. it s being reported that three workers from world central kitchen have been killed in an israeli drone strike in gaza. the israeli army confirmed they had targeted a car in khan younis and said

they had killed an october 7th attacker. palliative care campaigners in the uk have called on ministers to improve funding for end of life care, after a vote in the commons in favour of legalising assisted dying in england and wales. counting is under way in ireland�*s general election, with an exit poll suggesting a tight race between the three main parties. the cost of living, the housing crisis, and immigration are reported to have been among issues weighing on voters. now on bbc news...ukrainecast. hello, i�*m lucy hockings, co—host of the bbc�*s ukraine cast podcast with vitaly shevchenko. it�*s been a fortnight since president biden authorised the use of us missiles and weapons into russia. john sullivan was ambassador to russia under presidents biden and trump. this week we asked him what

the new trump administration means for the war.