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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaAlexei Navalny: Putin critic’s mother ‘given hours to agree secret burial’Published5 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, EPAImage caption, Alexei Navalny, pictured here at a rally in 2020, was President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest criticAlexei Navalny’s mother has been told to agree to a “secret” burial for the Putin critic within three hours, Mr Navalny’s spokeswoman says.Otherwise, she was told, he would be buried at the Arctic Circle penal colony where he died a week ago.Mr Navalny’s mother has said she has been forced to sign a death certificate saying he died of natural causes.But Mr Navalny’s widow, Yulia, has said he was killed on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin has denied the allegations, calling Western reaction to the death “hysterical”. Mr Navalny died on 16 February. Prison officials said he had fallen ill following a “walk”. Mr Navalny’s team has offered security officers €20,000 ($22,000; £17,000) in reward and assistance in leaving Russia in exchange for information about the Russian opposition leader’s death in prison.Mr Navalny’s spokeswoman said the opposition leader’s mother, Lyudmila, had refused to negotiate with the authorities as they “are not authorised to decide how and where her son should be buried”. She is demanding compliance with the law, according to which investigators are obliged to hand over the body within two days of establishing the cause of death,” Kira Yarmysh said.These two days are due to expire on Saturday. On Thursday US President Joe Biden met Mr Navalny’s widow and his daughter in San Francisco.”The president expressed his admiration for Alexei Navalny’s extraordinary courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption and for a free and democratic Russia,” the White House said in a statement. Image source, X/@POTUSImage caption, US President Joe Biden said Navalny’s “legacy of courage will live on” through his widow Yulia (right) and daughter DashaA day later, the US announced more than 500 new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and Mr Navalny’s death.These include measures against Russia’s main card payment system, financial and military institutions, and officials involved in Navalny’s imprisonment.US targets Russia with more than 500 new sanctionsThe EU has also announced new sanctions on access to military technology.For years Mr Navalny was most high-profile critic of the Russian leader.In August 2020, the former opposition leader was poisoned using the Novichok nerve agent by a team of would-be assassins from the Russian secret services. Airlifted to Germany, he recovered there before returning to Russia in January 2021, where he was imprisoned. Attempts at commemorating his death have been met by a heavy-handed response from Russian authorities, with makeshift monuments cleared and hundreds arrested.This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Watch: Navalny’s moments of defiance as Putin’s fiercest criticRelated TopicsRussiaAlexei NavalnyVladimir PutinMore on this storyUS targets Russia with more than 500 new sanctionsPublished4 minutes agoNavalny’s mother demands Putin return son’s bodyPublished2 days agoNavalny’s grieving widow vows to continue his workPublished3 days agoRosenberg: How two years of war have changed RussiaPublished1 day agoTop StoriesLive. Thousands evacuated in Plymouth before unexploded WW2 bomb movedShamima Begum loses bid to regain UK citizenshipPublished3 hours agoNavalny’s mother ‘given hours to agree to secret burial’Published5 minutes agoFeaturesWhy jet streams mean ‘piggy-backing’ planes can fly across the Atlantic faster. VideoWhy jet streams mean ‘piggy-backing’ planes can fly across the Atlantic fasterAttributionWeatherThe ‘mind-bending’ bionic arm powered by AIWeekly quiz: What word did Emma Stone have trouble saying?Frontline medics count cost of two years of Ukraine warWhat are the sanctions on Russia and are they working?Dozens of cars pile up after icy Chinese highway crash. VideoDozens of cars pile up after icy Chinese highway crashFirst private Moon mission marks new era for space travelBengal famine: Searching for lost voices from WW2’s forgotten tragedyWhile energy cap has fallen, standing charges are going upElsewhere on the BBCHow are jelly beans made?Gregg Wallace visits a Dublin factory that makes over ten million of the sweets per day!AttributioniPlayerThe good, the bad and the bafflingWhen the British public leave a review, they almost always write something hilariousAttributionSoundsFrom the largest ship to disasters on deck…A closer look at times when cruise ships have caused commotionAttributioniPlayerHow did a booming computer manufacturer go bust?Commodore computers were huge in the 1980s, so why couldn’t the business adapt and survive?AttributionSoundsMost Read1Husband ‘made over £1m’ eavesdropping on BP wife2Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells stripped of CBE3Mansplaining TikTok reaction ‘crazy’, says golf pro4Cat killer found guilty of murdering man5Shamima Begum loses bid to regain UK citizenship6Germany legalises cannabis, but makes it hard to buy7Children found dead in house died from knife injuries8Navalny’s mother ‘given hours to agree to secret burial’9Coronation Street actor John Savident dies aged 8610Astronomers crack 37-year cosmic ‘murder mystery’
[ad_1] The Putin critic’s spokeswoman says his mother was told he would be buried in the prison if she did not agree.
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityBusinessMarket DataEconomyYour MoneyCompaniesTechnology of BusinessCEO SecretsArtificial IntelligenceHow AI is helping the search for extraterrestrial lifePublished24 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Very Large Array facility in New Mexico is searching for signs of alien lifeBy Emma WoollacottBusiness reporterThere are between 10 and 50 billion potentially habitable worlds in our galaxy, says Bill Diamond. It makes his job rather difficult.Mr Diamond is the chief executive of the US-based research organisation Seti Institute. The letters “Seti” are an acronym for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.”Seti, as an endeavour, is looking for science and technology beyond the solar system as evidence of life and intelligence, and that’s by and large a needle in a haystack problem,” he says.”We’re looking for something that is likely exceedingly rare, and may be very difficult to find and extract from the background phenomena that you’re observing at the same time.”But new tools are helping the search. The ability of artificial intelligence (AI) to both handle massive datasets – and to spot anomalies – is transforming the hunt for alien intelligence.One such project involves a Seti Institute partnership with the US’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico. This federal facility uses radio frequencies to study celestial objects, such as planets, stars and asteroids.Seti is building a parallel, AI-powered software system for the observatory’s core facility, the Very Large Array. Built between 1973 and 1981, the VLA comprises 28 large, 25m diameter, dish antennas spaced out across a desert plain. Imagine the satellite dishes you find on people’s homes, just on a giant scale.When operational, the AI will be able to process every bit of data captured – two terabytes (TB) every second. To put that into context, modern laptops now typically have around 1TB of total storage.Image source, Bill DiamondImage caption, Mr Diamond says that the use of AI is already invaluableMr Diamond says that the increased use of AI is already proving to be “indispensable” as his institute continues to hunt for alien life.He points to AI making it possible to search for new types of radio signals from alien sources. He explains that traditionally, Seti has looked for narrowband signals similar to those used by human beings.”But there was always the question ‘what if there’s an alien advanced technology that is using wideband [radio]?’. And if that’s the case, our traditional methods wouldn’t work, it would look like a bunch of noise on the screen.”However, Mr Diamond says that the ability of AI to handle massive amounts of data means it’s possible to take millions of “snapshots” of this snowy audio picture over time, and to start to look for patterns. “It’s a way of adding on a new thing to look for.”Another project with which Seti collaborates is Breakthrough Listen. Backed by more than £100m of private sector funding, this scheme is scanning a million stars, and 100 galaxies, across a wide range of radio and optical bands, to look for evidence of technological life. One project member, University of Toronto student Peter Ma, recently developed a new AI system designed to examine telescope data, and distinguish between possible real signals from aliens, and interference. His team did this by simulating both types of noise, and then training their AI to differentiate between the two.Mr Ma says that an alien signal would, for example, “only appear when we point our telescopes at it… and disappear when we point away”. The project has already identified eight potential alien signals that went undetected by traditional analysis. However, Mr Ma believes that as the observations haven’t yet been repeated they are probably false positives.AI is also being used to try to detect signs of life of a more modest nature, and closer to home.Last year, Nasa’s Perseverance rover started collecting samples from the Jezero Crater on Mars, which will, if all goes well, be returned to Earth in several years’ time.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Nasa’s Perseverance rover is collecting rock samples from the surface of MarsAlready, scientists believe that the rover’s Sherloc instrument has detected organic compounds, which glow under ultraviolet light. However, organic compounds can be created by non-biological processes, meaning that it’s not yet possible to say whether they derive from past life on the planet.All this could change, though, thanks to new research from the Carnegie Institution for Science, which is using AI to analyse rock samples for signs of present or past life. The team found that the AI is able to distinguish former living and non-living material, with an accuracy of almost 90%.”This is a very new approach to searching for molecular biosignatures,” says joint lead researcher Dr Robert Hazen.”We employ machine learning to look at all of the vast amount of data from an analytical method that produces half a million data points per sample. So we’re seeking subtle patterns in molecular distributions.”Read additional stories on artificial intelligenceThe first plans are to use the system to analyse ancient samples from Earth, as well as some Martian samples in the form of meteorites. But, says Mr Hazen, “We could, for example, fly an instrument through the plumes of Enceladus [one of Saturn’s moons], or land a carefully designed instrument on Mars.”It’s early days, and any promising results generated by AI need to be validated by other observations, or by physics-based models, before they can be shouted from the rooftops. But as more and more data is collected and analysed, the chances of detecting alien life – if it exists – are increasing all the time.In the meantime, though, says Mr Diamond, “The progress is measured in the scale of the effort, not yet in the results.”Related TopicsArtificial intelligenceTop StoriesCommons descends into chaos over Gaza votePublished1 hour agoWatch: Angry scenes as MPs clash over ceasefire vote. VideoWatch: Angry scenes as MPs clash over ceasefire votePublished3 hours agoAnti-terror failures leave public at risk – ex-adviserPublished2 hours agoFeatures’Dad, please don’t go out’: The Gazans killed as Israel freed hostages’Premier League caught my online troll. Should I forgive him?’Watch: Chaos in the Commons over Gaza ceasefire vote. VideoWatch: Chaos in the Commons over Gaza ceasefire voteListen: Newscast – Disorder Disorder in the House of Commons. AudioListen: Newscast – Disorder Disorder in the House of CommonsAttributionSoundsK-Pop acts outsold everyone except Taylor Swift in 2023The strangers who saved each other’s livesWatch Big Keith’s iconic scotch egg scene from The Office. VideoWatch Big Keith’s iconic scotch egg scene from The Office’I was raped more than 100 times by grooming gang’Election poll tracker: How do the parties compare?Elsewhere on the BBCCan Molly keep her life afloat?A moving portrayal of a daughter’s love in the face of her father’s struggleAttributioniPlayerThe Swedish furniture king’s billionaire lifestyleDeconstructing IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad and his eccentric way of livingAttributionSoundsWhat is it really like to be a monk?’To be a monk is something very vast, very high and very beautiful’AttributioniPlayerHow did a booming computer manufacturer go bust?Commodore computers were huge in the 1980s, so why couldn’t the business adapt and survive?AttributionSoundsMost Read1Commons descends into chaos over Gaza vote2Russia ‘struggling with supply of weapons’ for war3New images show British ship in Red Sea has not sunk4Australian bishop Christopher Saunders charged with rape5The Office actor Ewen MacIntosh dies aged 506Met Police take no further action against Wootton7King ‘reduced to tears’ by cancer support messages8Prevent failures leave public at risk – ex-adviser9Cordon around unexploded WW2 bomb to be extended10’Dad, please don’t go out’: The Gazans killed as Israel freed hostages](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/11C0F/production/_132691727_gettyimages-1205366009.jpg)
