hello and welcome to bbc news. we start in moscow where a prominent critic of vladimir putin has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. the journalist and opposition activist vladimir kara murza played a key role in persuading western governments to sanction russian officials for human rights abuses and corruption. the us says it s evidence of an escalating campaign of repression in russia. the eu called it unacceptable. the uk summoned the russian ambassador. here s our russia editor, steve rosenberg. handcuffed and in a bullet proof cage, one of president putin s most prominent critics. vladimir kara murza faced multiple charges, including treason. the verdict, guilty. the punishment, the maximum possible. 25 years in prison. access to the courtroom was heavily restricted. along with otherjournalists and foreign diplomats, we crowded into another room to watch on tv screens. for more than a decade, vladimir kara murza has been a high profile opponent of the kremlin. he helpe
the financial times is reporting that the country s biggest bank, ubs, has offered to buy credit suisse for up to one billion dollars, although bloomberg reports that credit suisse sees that as vastly undervaluing the bank. the swiss banking giant had been caught up in the market uncertainty triggered by the collapse, nine days ago, of america s silicon valley bank. it had been offered an emergency credit facility of more than 50 billion dollars by switzerland s central bank but that had not prevented a sharp fall in its share price. more now on one of our main stories this hour a potential takeover of the struggling credit suisse bank by another swiss based bank, ubs. let s get the latest now from our correspondent in switzerland imogen foulkes. what is the latest on these stories to try and shore up we hearing a lot of things but i can tell you the crisis talks taking just on the road from me in berne financial authority of the banks, people are being very tight lip
the biggest strike day yet, with up to 1.4 million people expected at demonstrations in paris and elsewhere. the government is aiming to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. today marks the sixth day of strikes and protests since mid january. part of the french government plan is also to raise the minimum pension to 1,200 euros a month, which is over 550 euros higher than the current minimum figure. but unions want more because of rising inflation. joining me now is gregory bekhtari who is a member of the fsu , the main teachers union in france, and works as a teaching fellow at the pantheon sorbonne university. thank you for being with us. the government says that these plans are necessary because they say that if they don t, the numbers don t add up, it would mean a deficit. why is raising the pension age such problem? raising the pension age such roblem? , ., , , , raising the pension age such roblem? , ,, , problem? it s a problem because it s ve unfair probl
So theyre not paying bank fees and a lot in health, new vaccines. So were by far the biggest funder on malaria, coming up with new bed nets, new drugs. A vaccine, a way of killing mosquitoes. Yeah, but if you think about this in terms of ethics, are you driven in your philanthropy mostly by excitement, by the potential outcome, or does it come from some deep psychological motive, you know, guilt, a feeling that you should live a life thats purposeful, a feeling that, you know, you genuinelyjust dont know what to do with this cash . I not only want to put the money in, but i want to put my time in and assemble people so we can learn, you know, what Health Systems work, which ones dont. I, you know, find the work very fulfilling. I get to learn new things. Get to go to interesting places. Yeah. Theres no sacrifice involved. Its. Well, its quite a lot of financial sacrifice sure, but i dont have any use for that money. I mean, im not denying myself, you know, the worlds best cheeseburger,
malawi with more than 200 people now confirmed dead after storm freddy hit southern africa for the second time any man. and a small number of wolves have started to settle in belgium in more than 100 years as numbers increase across europe. hello and welcome to bbc news. let s begin today with the latest from pakistan, where the police appear to have stopped the operation to arrest the former prime minister imran khan. it appears to be due to a cricket match taking place. they say they will resume trying to arrest him afterwards. unrest continued through the night as imran khan s supporters clashed with security forces after police made another attempt to arrest him on a court order. he has accused the authorities there of acting outside the law and trying to arrest him. pakistan s information minister said the government had nothing to do with the arrest order. joining me now from islamabad is our correspondent. what is the latest from in and around the compound where imran