serve, allowing mr assange to return to australia, his home country. i'mjoined by return to australia, his home country. i'm joined by our north american correspondence. looks like this long—running saga could be coming to conclusion. us more. we received _ conclusion. us more. we received the _ conclusion. us more. - received the breaking news in the last couple of hours and there are so many layers to the julian assange story. to recap what you said there, it looks like he will be a free man at some point this week, striking a plea deal with the us. he spent the last five years in a high security prison, belmarsh prison, in the uk. remember, he has been long accused by the us of exposing sensitive secrets about the war in iraq and afghanistan through the wikileaks website, the whistleblowing website. and they claim it put american operatives in danger. and almost all the charges he faced, by the way, 18 charges, were under the 1917 espionage act. but he, now, this plea deal, the guilty plea expected to be finalised this week in the northern mariana islands, in the pacific, in a court appearance, he will plead guilty and it will resolve his long outstanding legal problems, i guess, with the us. the court documents, i have them in front of me, including them in front of me, including the department ofjustice letter. it shows that he will be recommended a 62 month prison sentence, so he won't likely spend any time in custody here in the states because under the plea agreement he will receive credit for the time he spent in a uk prison fighting extradition to the us. the department ofjustice letter says they expect him to return home to australia. we don't have an official comment from his attorney, but remember that julian assange is seen as someone who has been persecuted by the us. that is what his lawyers have said, that he has been politically persecuted, and for a lot of free speech advocates, julian assange has been seen as quite the figurehead.— been seen as quite the fiaurehead. ., ., ., ~ figurehead. nomia, thank you for getting — figurehead. nomia, thank you for getting us _ figurehead. nomia, thank you for getting us up _ figurehead. nomia, thank you for getting us up to _ figurehead. nomia, thank you for getting us up to speed - figurehead. nomia, thank you | for getting us up to speed with that developing story. our correspondent nomia iqbal in washington. thank you forjoining me on this story thatjust broken the last half hour or so. this is a significant development. but what is the key thing to understand about what this means forjulian assange? thank ou for means forjulian assange? thank you for having — means forjulian assange? thank you for having me. _ means forjulian assange? thank you for having me. the _ means forjulian assange? thank you for having me. the key - you for having me. the key thing to understand about this case is it a good result, but it won't go to trial and result in a precedent that could potentially be extremely damaging to press freedom in the united states and around the united states and around the world, it is still potentially troubling to see a publisher plead guilty for talking to source, obtaining documents, and publishing them the public. though the case seems to be coming to an end in a way that is less damaging thanit a way that is less damaging than it could have been, ultimately, but still has troubling implications for journalists and the free press. what is your take for what this means that the us justice department, that has pursued him for so many years and has onlyjust come to this agreement?— onlyjust come to this agreement? onlyjust come to this aureement? ., ., ., agreement? from the moment that the espionage _ agreement? from the moment that the espionage - _ agreement? from the moment that the espionage - sorry, _ agreement? from the moment that the espionage - sorry, from - agreement? from the moment that the espionage - sorry, from the - the espionage — sorry, from the moment the espionage act charges were announced a press freedom groups were united in condemning the case because of the threat they felt opposed to journalists stop regardless of what you think of assange himself, even the obama administration recognised that prosecuting would cause the new york times problem, saying that going after assange could then allow the justice department guide allow thejustice department guide to allow the justice department guide to mainstream publishers. it is concerning that the justice department continued to pursue the case for so long and we were calling on the biden administration to drop because because of the threat it posed to journalism because of the threat it posed tojournalism press because of the threat it posed to journalism press freedom. because of the threat it posed tojournalism press freedom. so the fact that they decided not to do that, to resolve with a properly deal, i think has concerning implications for journalists who would be watching the case to determine whether the justice watching the case to determine whether thejustice department is going to start to respect press freedom going forward or will continue down this path of potentially prosecuting journalists and the press. == journalists and the press. -- lea journalists and the press. -- plea deal- — journalists and the press. —— plea deal. according to reporters without borders, the press freedom index, the us has fallen to 55th out of 180 countries in 202a. what has this case revealed? indie countries in 2024. what has this case revealed? we have seen a concern _ this case revealed? we have seen a concern decline - this case revealed? we have seen a concern decline in - this case revealed? we have i seen a concern decline in press freedom in the united states in recent years. this case has revealed thatjournalists recent years. this case has revealed that journalists are not saved, necessarily, if they are doing the everyday activities that we rely on them to do, to report the news. simply speaking to a source, asking the source questions, asking the source questions, asking them for documents that are in the public interest, that the public has a right to know and need to know, could expose them to potential prosecution. and that is the real lesson of this case and why it has such a chilling effect, potentially, journalists, even with the fact that it has been resolved with a one. , , . ., that it has been resolved with aone. ,, . ., a one. the essence of the case comes back — a one. the essence of the case comes back to _ a one. the essence of the case comes back to concerns - a one. the essence of the case comes back to concerns over. comes back to concerns over national security that the us had over what gillies found julian assange was releasing. do not see merit to that argument, that there is a balanced district between national security and freedom of the press?— of the press? because it is important _ of the press? because it is important to _ of the press? because it is important to protect - of the press? because it is i important to protect national security, but it is also important for the public to understand what the government is doing in its name when it comes to things like how it conducts foreign policy and it wages war. the challenges that assange was facing were related to the publication of documents relating to the iraq war, the afghanistan war, things of heightened public interest. they could be no more important story. regardless of what you think ofjulian assange himself, journalist, news outlets publish those kinds of stories every day. and we do need to strike a balance, but the balance here has tipped way too far in favour of secrecy and really eroded press freedom and really eroded press freedom and journalists' rights. appreciate your time. caitlin vogus, deputy advocacy editor for the freedom of the press foundation. we'll keep our eye on the story for any word or statement from julian assange himself in the hours ahead here on bbc news. in the meantime, we turn our attention to what has been going on in the middle east. it is israel's defence minister, yoav gallant, is in washington for talks with us secretary of state anthony blinken. he has met with antony blinken and the men held a press conference after the meeting but the state department mentions that they spoke about the risk of escalation to the wider region, as well as the protection of humanitarian workers. the israeli prime minister hun said intense phase of fighting of hamas in gaza is nearly over, allowing forces to move to the northern border with lebanon to face hezbollah. in his first media interview, benjamin netanyahu said he expected the operation to be completed soon. he stressed that didn't mean the war was about to end, but action continues until hamas is completely driven from power. the conflict with hezbollah have raised fears of a wider war. benjamin netanyahu said "we can for dominic fight a war on severalfronts and "we can for dominic fight a war on several fronts and we are prepared to do that. " i spoke to peter byron dominic bowes. —— peter bowes. the last few hours, he has focused on the meeting with blinken. this issue of trying to avoid further escalation has been uppermost in their discussions and really avoiding escalation on two fronts, escalation of the war in gaza between israel and hamas, but there is also concern about the skirmishes that we have seen on the northern border of israel with lebanon with hezbollah, over the last few days. there is real concern that those skirmishes could turn into something more serious and escalate it into a wider middle east conflict. and we understand that antony blinken has been putting some pressure on mr gallant to reach a diplomatic resolution to that situation on the northern border to see the return home of israeli and lebanese families. there are concerns on a number of different fronts. also, the key issue of a ceasefire. we know there has been a ceasefire agreement or a pending agreement that the united states played a huge role in over the last few weeks that has never seen the light of day. as been resistance from the prime minister mr netanyahu to that. and the united states will want to try to push forward with at least the idea of a ceasefire before the eventual end of the war, and the end of the war is also another issue, with united states concern there isn't a plan that has been set out as to what happens day one, after the war, in terms of the governance of gaza. just quickly. _ governance of gaza. just quickly. as _ governance of gaza. just quickly, as well, - governance of gaza. just quickly, as well, peter,| governance of gaza. just quickly, as well, peter, was there any mention of the us concerns over the humanitarian situation on the ground and a getting in?— situation on the ground and a caettin in? , , ., getting in? yes, we understand that that is _ getting in? yes, we understand that that is one _ getting in? yes, we understand that that is one of _ getting in? yes, we understand that that is one of the - getting in? yes, we understand that that is one of the key - that that is one of the key issues certainly for mr blinken and the american team, that it has, it seems become more difficult for those humanitarian workers in recent days and weeks to get to those areas that their work is critically needed, because of the widespread degree of fighting and devastation and death that we have seen in gaza, and the humanitarian work vitally needed, but it seems has not been getting through as easily as it should. and again, pressure from mr blinken on mr gallant to make that happen in the coming days and weeks. to southern russia, where 20 people, including police officers and a press have been killed in a series of attacks on police posts, churches and a synagogue. this happened in the predominantly muslim, north caucasus republic of dagestan — one of russia's poorest regions. the apparently coordinated attacks targeted the cities of makhachkala and derbent on the orthodox festival of pentecost. the kremlin has dismissed the possibility of another wave of islamist violence in the northern caucasus. spokesman dmitry peskov insisted russia is a consolidated society where terrorism enjoys little support. our russia editor, steve rosenberg has this report. gunshots southern russia under attack. in the russian republic of dagestan, gunmen opened fire into cities. they targeted places of worship. this was the synagogue in derbent. security forces battled the insurgents long into the night. by morning, what was called an anti—terrorist operation was over and the scale of destruction in derbent and makhachkala became clear. the head of dagestan went to see for himself. in this church, the attackers had killed a russian orthodox priest. and the synagogue, now a burnt—out shell. translation: today is a day of tragedy for dagestan - and not only for dagestan but for our entire country. of course, we understand who is behind these terrorist attacks. we understand what they were trying to achieve. the suspicion is there is a link here to radical islam. in recent years, the islamic state group has claimed to have carried out a string of attacks in dagestan, and yet one russian mp has gone on state tv here to suggest that ukraine and nato orchestrated this latest attack. now, that's a narrative we've heard before. gunshots, woman screams earlier this year, after the mass shooting at a concert hall near moscow, the kremlin had pointed the finger of blame at kyiv and the west — even though islamic state had claimed responsibility for the attack. the authorities keen to make sure that russians view ukraine and the west as public enemy number one. but after the last 2a hours in dagestan, and attacks that left a string of police officers and civilians dead, one senior russian senator has said this. "if russia was to blame every terrorist attack on scheming "by ukraine and nato, the pink mist will bring "russia bigger problems." steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. you are live with bbc news. doctors without borders warned on monday access to healthcare is injeopardy in the north on monday access to healthcare is in jeopardy in the north of sue dan after nearly 1a months of war. this comes after one of the groups sought to attacked a maternity hospital, killing a pharmacy worker. —— sudan. it is one of the last functioning hospitals in the area. the attack is the latest after a year of brutal civil war. now the head of the un children agency, catherine russell, said that children are facing major vision. it that children are facing ma'or vision. , ., ., , vision. it is a largest displacement - vision. it is a largest displacement of - vision. it is a largest - displacement of children in their world because we are seeing real numbers and concerning numbers of children who are suffering from malnutrition, including in the worst form of malnutrition, which is severe and acute malnutrition, which kills children. almost all children here are out of school, so it is taken as a whole a very dire situation for children. according to one projection, up to 5% of the population of sudan, 2.5 million people, could die of starvation by the end of the year. is there already a feminine sudan? famine is one of those things where it has to be declared and there is a whole process that declares it. i think the clear answer is there isn't enough food for many people here and many people are on the verge of starvation. we are on the brink of famine, whatever that means. the reality is people are suffering here and they shouldn't be. the challenge for humanitarian entities and organisations like unicef is we need to have access to people so we can give them the help that they need. d0 so we can give them the help that they need.— that they need. do you think the two sides _ that they need. do you think the two sides are _ that they need. do you think the two sides are using - the two sides are using starvation as a weapon of war? it is hard for me to say that. it is hard for me to say that. i don't know what their intentions are. i can only talk about the result. it is 100% a man—made famine. a man—made problem here. forsure. man—made famine. a man—made problem here. for sure. there is no question about that. that we, you know, the challenge for us is not that we don't have the food or the access to it, but we can't get it to the people who need it. we have been hearing _ people who need it. we have been hearing warnings - people who need it. we have been hearing warnings aboutj been hearing warnings about hunger, starvation, famine in sudan for a while. is there a tipping point, a point of no return, when people start to die of starvation in mass numbers goes back a famine doesn't happen overnight. unfortunately we walk up to it. once it hits, it is hard to turnit once it hits, it is hard to turn it around. we need to act now was it will only get worse. you can always eventually make progress on something. so nothing is completely impossible. but for individual babies, for children who are starving now, who are hungry, who are severely malnourished, yes, it will be too late for them. , ., ., ,�* them. in 'ust a few hours' time, them. in 'ust a few hours' time. a — them. in just a few hours' time, a chinese _ them. in just a few hours' time, a chinese probe - them. in just a few hours' time, a chinese probe is. them. in just a few hours' i time, a chinese probe is due them. in just a few hours' - time, a chinese probe is due to return to earth, bringing images from the unexplored far side of the moon. scientists will analyse the rock and soil that have been gathered after it lands in mongolia. china is the only country to have landed on the far side of the moon with this craft docking in a crater close to the men's southall. i'mjoined crater close to the men's southall. i'm joined by richard jefferies, executive director of the space science institute in beijing and vassar of astrophysics at macquarie university. think you for joining me. what is the main question that this mission is seeking to answer?- seeking to answer? good morning- _ seeking to answer? good morning. thank - seeking to answer? good morning. thank you - seeking to answer? good morning. thank you for l seeking to answer? good - morning. thank you for having me. the main question they want to answer is why the far side of the moon is so different from the near side. the near side as what we see all the time, because the earth and moon a lot so we only see the near side. moon a lot so we only see the nearside. but moon a lot so we only see the near side. but if you look at the morphology, the shape, the appearance of the far side, it looks different, even in terms of geology. and so by drilling into the surface and also skipping material up from the surface, they hope to get a better idea of the composition of the materials and therefore, at the same time, they will try to understand the evolution of the early moon, when it was just formed as part of the early solar system.- just formed as part of the early solar system. what will the do early solar system. what will they do with _ early solar system. what will they do with the _ early solar system. what will they do with the samples - early solar system. what will l they do with the samples when they do with the samples when they managed to get hold of them? wasn't information will they look to gain from them? well, in addition to looking at what it looks like, they will want to know the distribution of the sizes of the particle are, what the density of the soil is, then using a variety of high—tech instrumentation they will try to figure out what the competition —— composition of these materials is, and also volcanic rocks, possibly coming from meteorites as owners of the moon at early stages. as owners of the moon at early sta . es. , , as owners of the moon at early stares. , , ., �* stages. these levels haven't made it back _ stages. these levels haven't made it back out. _ stages. these levels haven't made it back out. it - stages. these levels haven't made it back out. it is - stages. these levels haven't made it back out. it is still. made it back out. it is still risky, getting them home, isn't it? ., �* , ., it? that's right. there are four stages _ it? that's right. there are four stages to _ it? that's right. there are four stages to the - it? that's right. there are | four stages to the mission it? that's right. there are - four stages to the mission and the final stage is the re—entry. the re—entry is expected later today, possibly just before 2pm local time. and so re—entry will be an interesting technique. they will first ounce of the upper atmosphere then enter the rhetoric capsule. —— re—entry capital. so far everything is going well. crossed fingers everything goes well in the final stages well.— everything goes well in the final stages well. what does this mean — final stages well. what does this mean for— final stages well. what does this mean for chinese - final stages well. what does this mean for chinese space | this mean for chinese space ambitions and what does it mean for the space race more broadly?— for the space race more broadl ? ., ., , ., ., broadly? china has followed very strict — broadly? china has followed very strict five _ broadly? china has followed very strict five year - broadly? china has followed very strict five year plans i very strict five year plans over the last several decades. in terms of lunar exploration, they want to improve one bit of technology before they go onto the next. this is the chang'e—6 mission, with two missions planned to test further technologies. it looks like the chinese are very set on what they want to do without paying too much attention to what is happening elsewhere. having said that, they are keen to establish a lunar base at some point in the future, with an international coalition, and thatis international coalition, and that is a separate coalition from what the united states is proposing. so there is a little bit of competition there. we will have _ bit of competition there. we will have to _ bit of competition there. we will have to watch this space. no pun intended. thank you, richard. now to the uk, where a 12—year—old boy with severe epilepsy has become the first patient in the world to trial a new device fitted to his skull to control seizures. oran knowson, from somerset, was having multiple seizures a day, some of them life threatening. our medical editor fergus walsh has followed oran's progress over the last eight months, and has this report. a warning that fergus's report contains images of surgery, and of a seizure. epilepsy dominates oran's life. his parents know he could have a seizure at any moment. some are so severe, he stops breathing. so this is a tonic—colonic. you can see he's rigid. quinn, baby, i need your help, please. quinn? this is distressing to watch, but it illustrates what oran and his family have endured for years. every moment of his life is affected because of his epilepsy. i want oran back. i want him to find some of himself again through the haze of seizures. i'd like to get my boy back. it's october 2023. surgeons at great ormond street hospital in london insert two electrodes deep into oran's brain. these are connected to a neurostimulator in his skull that will deliver a continuous current designed to block the bursts of electrical activity which trigger oran's seizures. this study is looking at a new type of device which is particularly useful in children because the implant is in the skull and not in the chest. and we hope that that will reduce the potential complications. not easy. in the coming months, three more patients will undergo the same surgery here at gosh as part of the first—ever trial in the uk of this device to treat severe childhood epilepsy. well done! walk on. walk on! and this is oran eight months on. his daytime seizures have reduced by 80%. oran also has autism and adhd, but he's becoming more active and independent. yee—hah! we're seeing a much better quality of life, i think. - and he's happier. the great ormond street team gave us hope back, which was something we didn't have. - now the future looks brighter. oran's family know his treatment is not a cure, but they're optimistic he will continue to emerge from the shadow cast by his epilepsy. fergus walsh, bbc news, somerset. before we go, a quick recap of our top story this our — wikileaks said on monday that its founder, julian assange, had left a british prison and flown out of the united kingdom because of it is unclear where he was headed. he was due to plead guilty later this week to violating us as law in a deal that will allow him to return to australia. we are working to verify the statement and will bring you the latest on bbc news. goodbye for now. hello there. we saw the heat really building to start the new week in the sunshine. let me show you the picture from earlier on on monday in aberdeenshire. aboyne saw temperatures of 27 degrees on monday, making it the hottest day of the year so far in scotland. we also had our hottest day in northern ireland and in england — it was only wales that was missing out. temperatures reached 28 celsius in london — could get even hotter in the next few days. not so for scotland, northern ireland. tuesday will be cooler, and in the next few days, cooler, fresher air will push in from the northwest with a few showers. but the heat and humidity will linger for longer in england and wales. and into tuesday, we've got more sunshine for england and wales, this cloud in the west tending to break up, but the cloud in northern england could trigger one or two showers over the pennines. looking mostly dry but cloudier in northern ireland. some rain or showers in scotland, some heavy showers in the afternoon in the east in particular. temperatures will be lower in scotland, but still could reach 22 in the central belt and the southeast. it's nearing 19 in northern ireland. hotter for england and wales, especially the midlands — towards the south east, potentially 30 degrees around london. more sunshine for england and wales on wednesday, this time a bit more cloud towards the east coast and some cloud in scotland but fewer showers here. should see a bit more sunshine in northern ireland picking the temperatures up just a little. but again, the higher temperatures, the heat is going to be across england and wales — and again, london and the southeast could hit 30 degrees. but we're all going to be changing by the end of the week. this low pressure is going to drive this weather front eastwards. there's not much rain on that at all, but it's all about the timing because following that weather front, we've got cooler, fresher air coming in from the atlantic, pushing the heat and humidity into continental europe. so this is the picture for thursday. you can see our weather front here is just a narrow band of cloud, little or no rain on it. sunshine follows, blustery showers coming into scotland and northern ireland and making it feel cooler here. even with some sunshine for england and wales, temperatures will be lower, but there's still some heat across east anglia and the southeast — temperatures could be higher than 26 degrees here. but even here, things will change by the end of the week. cooler, fresher weather for all of us, i think, for friday and into the weekend, but mostly dry with some sunshine. artificial intelligence under fire. as the world's largest music label hits to american started with a lawsuit. plus we will take a look at the business of cricket with a t20 world cup in full swing. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. let's begin in the us where to artificial intelligence start—ups are being sued by the world's biggest record labels, they are at odds over alleged copyright infringement and the case has the potential to set presidents for years to come. the bbc�*s errand delmore has the details. —— erin delmore. the startups are called suno and odeo, and the group of labels, including sony music universal music group and warner records say they've been violating copyrights on an almost unimaginable scale. here's how the labels say it works. the ai startups ask users to enter a word prompt for a song like a storyline or a genre or lyrics or types of instruments to be used. and then the startups use their software, which the labels say were trained on existing music without consent or compensation to churn out the requested song. and the labels say the music is alarmingly similar, calling it wholesale theft that threatens to upend the entire music ecosystem. suno and udio did not immediately respond to requests for comment.