noor nanji reports., decades—long project, meant to create more capacity and speed up journey times. but hs2 has also been plagued by delays, cuts and spiralling costs. it's not the first section, between west london and birmingham, that is in question today. that's due to open by 2033. a central london terminus at euston is meant to come later, although work on that has been paused. but question marks hang over the line that is meant to link the west midlands and crewe before heading on to manchester. an eastern leg is also planned, but this has already been scaled back. recently, the prime minister, rishi sunak, and chancellorjeremy hunt have not been willing to say that they are committed to hs2 being built to manchester, casting fresh doubt over the project's future. labour's shadow chancellor rachel reeves has also refused to commit. now dozens of business leaders in groups including manchester airport's group, british land, virgin money and the northern powerhouse have all signed a letter calling f

noor nanji, bbc news. a story in spain has seen an outpouring of anger and outrage this week.irculating. they are fake, and it's believed they've been created using artificial intelligence, with the faces of real teenagers. the police there are investigating. guy hedgecoe reports. almendralejo is a small, sleepy town, but many of its families are having their world turned upside down by technology. nude images of girls aged between 11 and 16 have been circulating on messaging apps. but the pictures are not real. they were created using artificial intelligence. translation: even i had to look twice because i had doubts. - my daughter's crying all the time. her self—esteem is already very low, so this is terrible for her. a total of 28 girls have complained that fake nude pictures of them have been circulating on messaging apps. the images were created using real photos of the same girls, fully clothed, often taken from their own social media accounts. these were then fed into an ai application which provided imagined pictures of the girls unclothed. police are investigating at

noor nanji, reports. project, meant to create more capacity and speed up journey times. but hs2 has also been plagued by delays, cuts and spiralling costs. it was only earlier this year the government announced it was pausing work on the new central london terminus here at euston. now question marks are hanging over the line that links the west midlands and crewe, before moving on to manchester. recently, the prime minister rishi sunak and chancellorjeremy hunt have not been willing to say that they are committed to hs2 being built to manchester, casting fresh doubt over the project�*s future. the labour shadow chancellor rachel reeves has also refused to commit. in a letter to government, business leaders and companies including manchester airports group, british land, virgin money and the northern powerhouse, have called for clarification and renewed commitment to hs2. the letter expresses deep concern over the constant uncertainty over the project, adding that repeated mixed signals were damaging the u

noor nanji, bbc news.lk carrier — laden with more than 17,000 tonnes of wheat — left the port city of chornomorsk in ukraine on friday, bound for egypt. it comes as ukraine is testing a new sea route — avoiding international waters — and using those controlled by nato members bulgaria and romania. a first ship, with 3,000 tonnes of wheat, has safely arrived to istanbul last week. authorities in kosovo say they've taken control of a serbian 0rthodox monastery in the north, bringing to an end a stand—off with a group of heavily armed men. the gunmen are suspected of carrying out an attack overnight, in which a policeman died. kosovo's interior minister said the operation to end the stand—off involved �*several consecutive battles'. earlier, kosovan police said they had killed three of the gunmen and arrested another. i've been speaking to our balkans correspondent guy de launey. the reports that we're hearing now from north kosovo, from the monastery itself, is that the armed men have left the monastery and

noor nanji, bbc news.lp explain how life on earth began has successfully landed in the united states. the nasa spacecraft dropped the canister — carrying just 250 grams of rock and dust from the surface of the asteroid — onto the us state of utah. as our science editor, rebecca morelle, reports. the src has entered the atmosphere. a first glimpse of the capsule after its epicjourney through space. high up, a parachute opens, slowing its descent. ., . ., up, a parachute opens, slowing its descent-_ a _ up, a parachute opens, slowing its descent._ a text i up, a parachute opens, slowing its descent._ a text bookl descent. touchdown. a text book landinu in descent. touchdown. a text book landing in the _ descent. touchdown. a text book landing in the middle _ descent. touchdown. a text book landing in the middle of- descent. touchdown. a text book landing in the middle of the i descent. touchdown. a text book landing in the middle of the utah | landing in the middle of the utah desert. forthe landing in the m

noor nanji, bbc news.nd a stand—off with a group of heavily armed men. the gunmen are suspected of carrying out an attack overnight, in which a policeman died. i've been speaking to our balkans correspondent guy de launey. the reports that we're hearing now from north kosovo, from the monastery itself, is that the armed men have left the monastery and that inside the monastery now we have kosovo police and also the eulex, which is the eu's special rule of law mission in kosovo. so those authorities are now inside the monastery, the armed group isn't there. kosovo's authorities say that they've arrested six people in connection with the attack and they say that three more people were killed, as well as the police officer who was killed in the early hours of sunday morning. so that's happening right now. also, what's happening right now, as you say, serbia's president, aleksandar vucic, speaking about today's events. and he's saying that it's one of the most difficult days for our country since 2004 and 2008

noor nanji reports. it's a grand project first dreamt up in 2009.s and create more capacity. but hs2 has faced delays, cuts and spiralling costs. the original plan would've connected london to birmingham, and then leeds and manchester. in 2021, the section from birmingham to leeds was cancelled. now, there is speculation the line might end in west london, rather than going all the way to euston, and the birmingham to manchester bit is in doubt as well. the last official estimate on hs2 costs — excluding the cancelled eastern section — added up to about £71 billion — although this was in 2019 prices. £22.5 billion has already been spent on the london to birmingham leg whilejust over £2 billion has been spent on preparing for the other sections. this morning, the defence secretary — and former transport secretary — said no decision has been taken yet, but that it's important to respond to the budget. every government has to look at the overall budgets and then, make serious decisions which go beyond the sort of back—and—forth in a studio like this...

noor nanji, bbc news.first bus services to be brought back under public control in england in almost a0 years have started operating in the region. outside london, bus networks zre franchised to private companies to run, but the local authority sets the fares, timetables and routes. the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, says the new buses may show the need for "more public control and ownership of critical services". live now tojessica lane in bolton. good afternoon, what does this mean for the people of greater manchester?— for the people of greater manchester? ., , manchester? good afternoon. many --eole manchester? good afternoon. many eo - le we manchester? good afternoon. many peeple we have _ manchester? good afternoon. many people we have spoken _ manchester? good afternoon. many people we have spoken to _ manchester? good afternoon. many people we have spoken to today - manchester? good afternoon. many people we have spoken to today say that what they really want from buses, from public tr

noor nanji, bbc news.of manchester city council and board member of the northern powerhouse partnership. thank you forjoining us. firstly your reaction to those comments from grant shapps. i your reaction to those comments from grant shawn-— your reaction to those comments from grant shanna-— grant shapps. i would say we are reaponding- _ grant shapps. i would say we are reaponding- as — grant shapps. i would say we are responding. as the _ grant shapps. i would say we are responding. as the leader- grant shapps. i would say we are responding. as the leader i - grant shapps. i would say we are responding. as the leader i metl grant shapps. i would say we are i responding. as the leader i met the mare is the missing position, no one in government has a purchase as a cities to talk about it. now of course, you would expect a government of the day to be looking closely to how they are spending the money. but what i would say is this once in a generation opportunity to invest in infrastructure to the north fro

recommendations to help those who might struggle as the weather gets colder, as our business reporter noor nanjibuild seating into thejets. this year's report warns that this winter could be even worse with bills predicted to stay higher, what cost—of—living pressure and accumulated energy debt. it has an announcement from support is long overdue. if they stepped up to the place last year but we want to make sure that the energy companies and consumer groups are looking out for vulnerable consumers. the first thing is that the government needs to give some sort of surety to vulnerable households about

noor nanji reports.ding up journey times. but hs2 has also been plagued by delays, cuts and spiralling costs. question marks are hanging over the line before it reads manchester. recently prime minister rishi sunak and chancellorjeremy hunt have not been willing to say they are committed to hs2 being built in manchester, casting fresh doubts over the future of the project. i hope the government does need to continue to reconsider. but the other side of that story is the government also needs to get behind this project. when they firmly decide it's affordable, get behind it. in a letter organised by the rail industry, the leaders of 21 firms warned that constant changes to a flagship infrastructure project add to the perceived risk of the uk as a place to do business. they say discarding the leg to manchester will have serious implications for the uk economy, and urged the prime minister to reaffirm his commitment to the delivery of hs2 phase two from manchester to euston in full, to deliver the widesprea

noor nanji, bbc news.ity serb north. it follows an ambush against police that killed one and injured at least one other. the eu's foreign policy chief has described that attack as "hideous" and called for the culprits to be brought to justice. serbia is yet to comment on the incident. reporter yasmin khatun dewan has more from the newsroom. the attack took place in the northern village of banjska. you can see it here, it's to the north of kosovo by the serbian border. according to official reports, it involves professionals using heavy weapons and two large unidentified vehicles. you can see this image from the scene of the attack, where nato troops were part of a long—standing kosovo force standing by the scene of the incident with local police officers. tensions have run high in kosovo following recent elections and the clashes that followed. relations between the albanian—dominated government and the serb minority community have been strained for years. you can see images from those clashes there. nato,

noor nanji, bbc news.th. that of course means media events like this — party leader sir ed davey in a canoe, to promote his policy on stopping sewage dumping into rivers. but there are some other policies which are a bit harder to portray in a visual way. for example, the lib dems have now dropped their longstanding commitment to put a penny on income tax — and instead want to increase levies on big companies like banks. live now to bournemouth — and the political editor for bbc south, peter henley. it's it�*s a wonderful sunny day on the south coast, and the lib dems are in good heart. it�*s the first time they have got together for four years, longer than the other political parties, because their conference was cancelled at very short notice because of the death of the queen, and covid before that. so where they are pleased to see each other and it�*s all smiles, beneath the surface, some tensions amongst old friends start to come back up again. brexit, how to deal with the housing crisis and ditching s

here's our business reporter noor nanji. are key parts of hs2 are about to be scrapped?lation has been mounting over the weekend. on saturday, more than 80 companies and business leaders sent a letter to the government seeking clarity over its commitment to hs2. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, also wrote to prime minister rishi sunak, warning him against axing central parts of the hs2 project. he said doing that could be a colossal waste of money. the government has so far refused to commit to the current plans for the rail link, and on sunday the defence secretary, grant shapps, told the bbc that it would be crazy not to review plans as costs have soared. the proposal for hs2 was first put forward in 2009. the aim to speed up journey times and create more capacity. but hs2 has faced delays, cuts and spiralling costs. the original plan would have connected london to birmingham, and then leeds to manchester. in 2021, the section from birmingham to leeds was cancelled. other key elements now appear to be in doubt. the high speed rail is supposed to come here to euston, bu

noor nanji, bbc news.oined by paul chapman, senior fellow at the sayeed business school and vice president at the association for project managers i bet you're glad you're not project managing hs2 for starters because is has almost doubled its original budget, it's now up at 71 billion excluding the eastern leg of the project, shouldn't the government be reconsidering just based on cost alone? reconsidering “ust based on cost alone? ,., ., , ., alone? government does need to continue to _ alone? government does need to continue to reconsider _ alone? government does need to continue to reconsider but - alone? government does need to continue to reconsider but the . alone? government does need to i continue to reconsider but the other side of that story is the government also needs to get behind this project when they firmly decided that it's affordable, get behind it. how do you decide of something like this is a full roaming costs are going up and you're in a cost of living crisis? people around the count

noor nanji, bbc news. let's get more of nan'i, bbc news. let's get more of the nanji, bbc news.s with _ nanji, bbc news. let's get more of the news with ben. _ a number of metropolitan police officers are stepping back from firearms duties after a marksman was charged with the murder of chris kaba in south london last year. our reporter simonjones is at new scotland yard this morning. simon, what's prompted this response? it was just over a year ago that chris kaba was driving in south london. he was stopped by the police in the moments that followed being shot and the head through the windscreen by an armed metropolitan police officer. it turned out that chris kaba was not armed. the vehicle he was in didn't belong to him. but the met said it had been linked to a guns incident on the previous day. on wednesday the crown prosecution service took the decision to charge the met police officer who shot chris kaba with murder. he appeared in court on thursday. we can't blame him for legal reasons but ever since the met says there has been growing concern amongst other firearms offic

recommendations to help those who might struggle as the weather gets colder, as our business reporter, noor nanjinergy bills eating into budgets. this new report from a cross—party committee of mps warns that this winter could be even worse, with bills predicted to stay high, wider cost of living pressures and accumulated energy debt. it adds an announcement of support from the government is long overdue. clearly, the government did step up to the plate last year, but we want to make sure that the energy companies and consumer groups are looking looking out for vulnerable consumers. i think the first thing is the government needs to give some sort of surety to vulnerable households, what support there's going to be. the report makes some specific recommendations, including ensuring all households who missed out on the energy bills support scheme last winter receive their payment immediately, extending the warm homes discount, considering implementing a form of social tariff, working to replace the current unfair and regressive standing charge structure, and accelerating the smart meter roll—out.

recommendations to help those who might struggle as the weather gets colder, as our business reporter noor nanji explains. last winter was hard for many households with soaring energy build seating into thejets. this year's report warns that this winter could be even worse with bills predicted to stay higher, what cost—of—living pressure and accumulated energy debt. it has an announcement from support is long overdue. if they stepped up to the place last year but we want to make sure that the energy companies and consumer groups are looking out for vulnerable consumers. the first thing is that the government needs to give some sort of surety to vulnerable households about the support they will be. the households about the support they will be-— households about the support they will be. the report makes secific they will be. the report makes specific recommendations - specific recommendations including ensuring that all households are missed out on the energy bill support scheme last winter receive their payment immediately. extending the warm homes discount, considering implementing a form of s

noor nanji, bbc news.talk about that much more later in the programme, about what those changes could look like. it has been a week, of course, since those accusations against russell brown. we have a commons overnight, template mac is looking at those? i am indeed. russell brand has made his first public statement since sexual assault allegations were made against him a week ago. in a video posted on his youtube channel, he did not directly address the claims but thanked supporters for "questioning" the media reports. he also criticised the government and technology companies. 0ur reporter simonjones has more. hello there, you awakening wonders. back on social media for the first time in a week.— time in a week. obviously it has been an extraordinary _ time in a week. obviously it has been an extraordinary and - been an extraordinary and distressing week, and i thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you have been presented with. julia; questioning the information tha