here in slovakia people are struggling to come to terms with what their president has called an attack on democracy. overcrowding in england's prisons — the government orders the delaying of some court cases to help manage numbers. premier league clubs are set to vote on whether to scrap var from next season. it's a familiar story in scotland after all. celtic clinch the scottish premiership, beating kilmarnock 5—0. and a picture is worth a thousand words — we speak exclusively to sir eltonjohn about his extensive collection of photographs. on the newsnight at 1030, world leaders from president biden to

emmanuel macron condemned to be but appears to be the attempted assassination of the prime minister of slovakia. who did it and why, tonight we will have the latest. good evening. slovakia's prime minister robert fico is said to be fighting for his life after being shot multiple times in an assassination attempt. mr fico had been attending a government meeting. as he spoke to crowds afterwards he was shot five times, before being bundled into a car by security personnel. he has been in surgery for three and a half hours. the suspect has been detained by police. slovak ministers have said the attack was politically—motivated. it took place in the central slovakia town of handlova. slovakia borders ukraine, and mr fico has been a divisive figure — considered by some as authoritarian and russia—leaning. tonight we'll hear from our europe editor katya adler in brussels on the significance

of this attack on a european leader, but first bethany bell is in slovakia. bethany? there is a real sense of confusion and _ bethany? there is a real sense of confusion and shocking _ bethany? there is a real sense of confusion and shocking here - bethany? there is a real sense of confusion and shocking here in i confusion and shocking here in slovakia. the slovak president has urged people to wait for the results of the police investigation and not make what she called quick judgments, but many people here are worried that the shootings will deepen the divisions in an already deeply polarised country. this was the moment a european leader was shot... gunshots. ..as he greeted members of the public in front of a local community centre. robert fico was shot in the stomach and in the arm. his security team half dragged, half carried him to his car. a few metres away, amidst the chaos, security officials push a man to the ground.

the suspect is believed to be in his 70s. witnesses say he shot at the prime minister several times. translation: i heard three shots. it was quick, one by one, like if you throw firecrackers on the ground. i saw a scratch on the prime minister's head and then he fell next to the barrier. it's a nightmare. the 59—year—old was flown by helicopter to hospital, where he had emergency surgery. officials said his condition was critical. a few hours later, a sombre president addressed the nation. translation: i am shocked, we are all shocked by - the terrible and vicious attack on prime minister robert fico. a physical attack on the prime minister is, first of all, an attack on a person, but it is also an attack on democracy. hateful rhetoric, which we can

see in society leads, to hateful actions. please stop it. robert fico, seen here before the attack, is regarded as a divisive figure — a populist who's accused of being authoritarian and too close to russia. the attack has been widely condemned by all sides in slovakia. translation: the attack - on the prime minister is terrible - uncivilised and brutal, pure evil. this should provoke just one reaction — unite all society against evil, hate and violence. the suspect is now in police custody, the authorities are searching for a motive. bethany bell, bbc news, bratislava. our europe editor, katya adler, is in brussels. a shocking attack, katya — and inevitably much

speculation as to the motive? yes, alarming is how thejoe biden put it this afternoon, and of course a lot of speculation, as you say, about what might have happened. sadly, i think it is symptomatic in these divisive times in which we live that there is an increased threat and attacks against politicians. we know this in the uk in recent weeks, there have been a string of attacks on german politicians too. slovakia is a small eu country not used to being in the spotlight but it has been coming under increasing international attention for two main reasons. one, because robert fico is a deeply controversial politician in a deeply divided society and in the last weeks pheasants took to the streets to protest against his policies. we

heard the interior ministry has blamed the attack today on political motivation and there is video in the media in slovakia right now of the alleged shooter which appears to back up that claim. the other reason slovakia has been coming under attention is because europe has war on the continent again, ukraine is fighting for its existence, slovakia borders ukraine that brussels is very worried about the direction it fears robert fico is taking its country. on the campaign trail this autumn he said sanctions should be entered against moscow and that military aid to ukraine should be released. in the past he has expressed admiration for vladimir putin. he has softened that stance but is extremely close to viktor orban of hungary, and a liberal prime minister known for his close ties to the kremlin. but despite all of this, the concern i am hearing tonight in brussels about robert fico, who is known so well after so

many years had so many eu summits, is concerned for his family and his well—being. katya adler, thank you. ouryearat —— our our year at —— our europe editor. from next week, some prisoners will be released 70 days early as part of a government plan to free up space in england's prisons. rishi sunak has insisted that strict rules will apply to ensure public safety — but labour says that convicted domestic abusers could end up being among those leaving jail early. prison overcrowding has also prompted the government to order the delaying of some court appearances to try to manage the numbers. here's our deputy political editor, vicki young. england's prisons are overcrowded and running out of space, so the government's taking emergency action to control the flow of prisoners through the system. some will be let out up to 70 days early and court hearings could be delayed. after 1a years of tory government, the prison system is in chaos. the labour leader wanted more details about the prisoners being released. how many? where are they?

what crimes have they committed? so will he at least guarantee that none of criminals he is instructing prisons to release early are considered high risk? mr speaker, there are strict eligibility criteria in place, with exclusions based on public safety and no one will be put on the scheme if they were deemed a threat to public safety. but sir keir said a high risk inmate prisoner has been freed early from lewes prison. does the early release of stalkers, domestic abusers, and those considered a risk to children sound like the work of someone who is making the country more secure? it does not apply to anyone serving a life sentence, anyone convicted of a serious violent offence, anyone convicted of terrorism, anyone convicted of a sex offence. at the start of the week, the prime minister said if labour was in charge it would risk the country's security, so this was

an awkward moment for him — releasing prisoners early allows the labour leader to turn that attack back on the government. today, ministers also announced some trials will be delayed and suspects could be released on bail rather than being sent to a cell. and, with the number of prisoners set to rise, some think these measures could last for years. if we were to follow that trajectory, there is no way the government can build enough prison places in time to meet those numbers. so i think what we are looking at is emergency measures actually being in place for the foreseeable future, to continue to deal with what is an ongoing crisis of capacity in the system. lawyers say they're seeking more information about the emergency measures and in the meantime, victims and defendants face uncertainty. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. our home and legal correspondent dominic casciani joins me. dominic, how did it get to this situation?

let's pick up on the point about capacity. critics say this crisis has been decades in the making. we've beenjailing more people — and jailing them for longer. this was the situation last friday — 87,691 in jail. that left 1,238 spaces — so 99% full. there is very little capacity left in the system. so they need solutions beyond the early release scheme at the heart of pmqs today. the government is talking about 20,000 extra prison places. but look at this red line, roughly where we are. the blue line is where the government hopes we will end up. the dotted line, that's what officials now fear will happen — we will run out of cells again by 2027. a big driver of all this is also record court backlogs — 67,500

serious crimes waiting for trial in crown court, caused by cuts, the pandemic and loss of lawyers from criminaljustice. lots of people are effectively warehoused in prisons, waiting for dates. it is a real systemwide problem and critics say that whatever the row at the moment, whoever is the next government, they need to come up with serious cash and fresh thinking to resolve this deeply ingrained crisis.— and fresh thinking to resolve this deeply ingrained crisis. thank you very much. _ deeply ingrained crisis. thank you very much, dominic _ deeply ingrained crisis. thank you very much, dominic casciani. - ukraine's president zelensky has cancelled foreign trips, as a russian offensive in north—east ukraine gains ground. on friday, russian troops crossed the border into ukraine, close to its second city of kharkiv. ukraine has pulled back troops from some areas in the border region and thousands of people have been evacuated from the area. but today it said it had repelled a russian attack in the border town of vovchansk. meanwhile in kyiv, us secretary of state antony blinken has announced extra funding for ukraine

— as james waterhouse reports. not your usual traffic jam in russia's belgorod region, as a rocket launcher pulls over to pourfire into neighbouring ukraine, causing panic across the border. "what do you need to take? "let's move quicker, let's go," says this police officer. the russians are using new tactics here — constant ground assaults and relentless air strikes, although not all bombs go off. now ukrainian troops are withdrawing from some positions near the border. for the first time in 18 months, this war is no longer a grinding stalemate. russia has momentum, and that is fuelling a sense of diplomatic urgency here in kyiv. a two day visit by america's secretary of state, antony blinken, ended with tributes to ukraine's war dead and another $2 billion to arm

those still fighting. we're rushing ammunition, armoured vehicles, missiles, air defences, rushing them to get to the front lines, to protect soldiers, to protect civilians. and on air defences, as dmytro said, this is, of course, a top priority. in moscow with his new defence minister, a confident sounding vladimir putin announced more funding for a war he thinks he's winning control. translation: all enemy - counterattacks were repelled. our troops are improving in all positions, in all directions, every day. and here are the consequences — kherson in the south, like so many cities and towns across ukraine, is becoming increasingly uninhabitable. nowhere is immune to moscow's desire to conquer its neighbour. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv.

tonight it's emerged thatjunior doctors in england are to go back into talks with the government with independent mediation in their long—running dispute over pay. our health editor, hugh pym, is here. some movement at last? indeed, it has been a — some movement at last? indeed, it has been a bitter, _ some movement at last? indeed, it has been a bitter, acrimonious - some movement at last? indeed, it has been a bitter, acrimonious and | has been a bitter, acrimonious and prolonged dispute for more than a gate with no substantive talks since december. both sides seemed a long way apart but tonight we have learned the government and the bma, thejunior learned the government and the bma, the junior doctors' union, learned the government and the bma, thejunior doctors' union, have the junior doctors' union, have agreed thejunior doctors' union, have agreed to sit down with an independent mediator, a new step forward which suggests possibly a mood of compromise. remember that the ma asked for a pay rise of 35% phased over a number of years, the government awarded just over 9% on average last year and would not go further. but now with this mediator, possibly progress can be made.

victoria atkins, the health secretary covering england, said she was hopeful it would provide a way forward, the bma said it was about establishing trust and the independent media could help break the logjam. they still have a mandate for strike action so it is not over until it is over. in wales there are talks between the junior doctors' union and the government and in northern ireland there is a junior doctors strike planned for next week. hugh pym, thank you. two men have appeared before magistrates in newcastle accused of chopping down the sycamore gap tree in northumberland. 38—year—old daniel graham, from carlisle, pleaded not guilty to criminal damage and adam carruthers, who is 31, entered no plea. both men are due before newcastle crown court next month. people across south devon have been advised to boil their tap water after 22 cases of a diarrhoea and sickness bug were confirmed. a further 70 suspected cases are also being investigated. jenny kumah reports.

for days, people in a small area of brixham have been falling ill. social media has been awash with angry people blaming the tap water. but yesterday they were told the water was safe to drink. lisa and her two teenage children have been sick for almost two weeks. it started off with a scratchy throat, then a cough. ijust presumed it was a cold coming on. and then i had diarrhoea for about five, six days. but yesterday they were saying there were no issues, to carry on as normal? yeah, horrendous. they told us it was fine to drink the water. because we're all dehydrated, because of the diarrhoea, we need to drink water. and and i know a lot of people in the road have got it right now and were drinking the water yesterday because they were told it was safe to do so. the utility said overnight testing had found the waterborne parasite cryptosporidium in a localised area. this water storage site is one of the places they're investigating. do you accept it was a mistake to

tell people to carry on as normal? we do. we, with the benefit of hindsight and the additional sampling we've taken, we do realise that now it looks like perhaps we should have said something different yesterday. however, we operated at that point with the best intentions and using the sampling and the water quality monitoring that we had available to us. and we were working with the public health authorities as well. experts say outbreaks like this are less common nowadays because of improved water quality. most healthy people will recover within a month. the authorities are looking into the source of the outbreak. people here want answers. jenny kumah, bbc news, devon. the situation in areas of afghanistan hardest hit by flash floods that killed hundreds of people remains critical, the world health organization has said — and the authorities have predicted more bad weather to come. our correspondent caroline davies and her team have visited some of the remote areas hit by the flooding and sent this report

from northern baghlan province. this used to be a village. little trace of lives swept away... ..only the debris. sticky mud, heated — hardening. salvaging what's left is tough. translation: we haven't got even a glass left for a cup of tea. - there is nothing. this is one of the worst hit villages, and people are still trying to excavate their homes, trying to salvage what they can from the rubble. everywhere you look, there are uprooted trees, there are bits of building and the destruction is just in every direction. over here, more people, more homes, more buildings destroyed, more belongings, and people here who still don't have a home to stay in tonight. flash floods tore through villages in north—east afghanistan, sweeping away everything in their path. here, a miraculous rescue — dragged alive from muddy waters. many were not.

abdul�*s family's three homes stood here for 20 years. he returned to find nothing but this wall. ten out of 18 of his family were killed, swept away. translation: we were searching - for family members in knee-deep mud. so we took off our shoes and continued searching. eventually, we found the bodies miles away from here. these stark valleys have seen flooding before, but no one we spoke to had seen anything like this in their lifetime. on the broken road, women walk between bereaved families... ..offering graveside prayers. they will make more than one stop today. the grieving is not over.

caroline davies, bbc news, baghlan. no reason to panic — that's the message from the chief executive of the london stock exchange over the growing number of companies worth hundreds of billions of pounds which are leaving it. they've gone to new york, or been snapped up by foreign buyers — royal mail's owners saying they are minded to accept a £3.5 billion bid from a czech billionaire. the chancellor is holding a summit on how to stem the exodus being described as an existential risk to a vital part of the economy. here's our business editor simonjack. for centuries, the area around st paul's has brought together companies that need money to grow and those who have money to invest. it's home to the london stock exchange, where our pensions and savings buy shares in companies so we can share in their future success. but firms are leaving the london market and looking elsewhere — like ali's biotech business, which is looking at higher prices in new york —

and it's bad news for london. it's more than a crisis to m, it's an existential crisis. what i'm seing is, i don't see any world where the united kingdom should not be actively engaged and practising artificial intelligence technology and biotechnology. the amount of companies leaving the exchange in that field, in those sectors, is extremely alarming. some big companies have either already left, they're about to leave, or thinking of leaving. cambridge based tech giant arm holdings is now listed in new york. paddy power's owner flutter is leaving injune, so is travel company tui. many others have been snapped up privately. royal mail's owners are keen to sell to a czech billionaire. even the uk's biggest company, shell, has warned it can't rule out a move to the us to get a higher share price. the boss of the london stock exchange seemed relaxed, and insisted the uk was holding its own. there is no sense of panic. i do think there is a need to get the facts out there.

but i think one has to recognise that the us economy is the largest economy in the world and therefore has a huge amount of capital. we are the sixth largest economy in the world, with the third largest capital market. so we are already punching above our weight. and the fact that the only place we're really competing with is the us is entirely to our credit. but get this — a single company, apple, is worth more than the 100 biggest companies listed in london combined. on average, us listed companiescommand double the price per pound or dollar of profit. little wonder uk companies are looking at new york. so, who cares if they go elsewhere to raise money? the point is, it's notjust about the london stock exchange. the companies listed here need accounting services, legal services, insurance policies. it's like a coral reef that contributes 10% of all uk economic activity and 10% of all taxes collected. if a giant like shell were to leave, how big a blow would that be? massive, absolutely massive. because, inevitably, other companies would follow.

you know, bp would have to be considering it. and then the whole ecosystem goes, the uk market shrinks. so it definitively impacts on our own economy, not only the stock market. london lost some business to european exchanges after brexit, but they are struggling to compete with new york too. london is not burning, but the chancellor is concerned enough to fetch the big city engines to a major summit at his official country retreat tomorrow. simonjack, bbc news, in the city. premier league clubs will vote on whether to scrap video assistant referees from next season. the vote will take place at the league's annual general meeting next month. var has been at the centre of a number of controversial incidents this season. how has it come to this? the vote has been triggered _ how has it come to this? the vote has been triggered by _ how has it come to this? the vote has been triggered by a _ how has it come to this? the vote has been triggered by a resolution from one club, wolves. but the

objections may resonate with a lot of football fans. we know that var slows the game down as we all wait for the replay is to be analysed. for example, that instinctive joy at celebrating a goal, that can often be lost. and wolves would say that even when a decision is reached, it can lead to more dispute and frustration. wolves will need the backing of another 13 premier league clubs to get var scrapped, they might struggle with that. the premier league itself is definitely in favour of keeping the system, pointing to innovations that are coming this bid next season, the premier league would say already there are more correct decisions because a var than before. i guess, like everything, that is open to interpretation. but i think var is staying. perhaps this is a yellow card for the system, rather than a red. . ~ , ., card for the system, rather than a red. . ~' , ., , card for the system, rather than a red. . ~ ,, , . card for the system, rather than a red. . , . red. thank you very much, joe wilson. staying with football and celtic have been crowned scottish premiership champions tonight after a 5—0 win against kilmarnock.

jane dougall has all the action from rugby park. # celtic, we're the best team in glasgow...# the confidence of fans with the edge over their rivals. it's going to be really special, because it was really close this year, because loads of people thought rangers were going to come to win it. and then we're going to come to win it. came from perth, australia, last friday. came here for the rangers game on saturday, and here to see celtic win the league. the league title hhas gone down to the wire this season, with celtic ahead of rangers, going into this penultimate league match. a win or a draw against kilmarnock was all celtic needed. but twice this season they've lost here. they needn't have worried. this was third time lucky. put away by adam idah! it took just four minutes for celtic to take the lead. kilmarnock�*s defence couldn't hold and another followed, then a third for celtic. james forrest! the fans could already taste the title. the second half saw more of the same, an unstoppable strike from matt o'riley. well, that is just brilliant.

and they weren't finished there. a fifth for the new champions, and a first piece of silverware for returning manager, brendan rodgers. this might not be their home ground, but the celtic players and fans have settled in to celebrate. rangers cannot catch them now, and they have won their third scottish premiership title in a row. they will lift the trophy on the last day of the season, on saturday, in front of their home fans, when the real party will begin. jane dougall, bbc news, kilmarnock. they are images that capture moments in time — marilyn monroe, malcolm x, a versace dress and the singer sir eltonjohn — here with eggs on his face. these images are all owned by sir elton and his husband david furnish. they have one of the greatest private collections of photographs in the world, more than 7,000 of them. now an exhibition of some

of them is about to open at london's v&a this weekend. they've been talking exclusively to our culture editor katie razzall. # i'll write a symphonyjust foryou and me...# 300 photographs, many on show for the first time. # i'll paint a masterpiece...# sir eltonjohn started collecting after he got sober in the �*90s, and with his husband david furnish, now has one of the world's great collections. i'm so proud of what we've collected, because we both love photography so much. itjust hits so many emotional moments for both of us. the nan goldin especially, i bought that because i thought, that's my life, my old life, on the wall. the addictions and the people we lost to aids. yeah. there's a lot of pain and grief on these walls. 9/11, political riots, assassinations. what makes you want to collect that pain? because in pain sometimes, there's a lot of beauty, unfortunately, and i'm drawn to that. that's why the show

is called fragile beauty. # seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind...# we are sitting surrounded by some very beautiful people. but of course, there's sadness here as well. we've got marilyn, chet baker. and i'm looking at miss piggy. so there's something for everyone! marilyn monroe, chet baker, they clearly suffered for their art. did you think you suffered for your art? well, i did in a way, but it was self—inflicted. the pain i suffered was because of addiction, and alcoholism and unhappiness. but music saved me and it always has done. the couple have 2,000 photographs from 9/11. it's the first time they've exhibited any of them. it's too raw for people who lived through that, but it's good to see some of them. there's only about four of them out. reportage is very important. and there's a very powerful photo of the january the 6th capitol hill riot. yes, i think the importance

of photographs like that is that we live in an age now where people seem to want to rewrite history and want to deny truth, and i think when things are captured photographically, it's irrevocable. it's important to have photographs like that and it's important to keep a record of what happened. but there is little record of the man himself in the show. there are just two photographs of eltonjohn — one of his hands, and this more playful image. completely spontaneously, he picked the plastic eggs up and put them under his glasses, and that to me says more about elton's personality, and sense of humour and irreverence than anything, and that's what i love about photography. it is extraordinary that i collect photographs, because i don't like being photographed. i find it really painful. # hold me closer, tiny dancer...# many will find pain, but also joy in this extraordinary collection — a chronicle of our times. katie razzall, bbc news.

time for a look at the weather.