like the khachaturian case, margarita's story has become president trump has made a media sensation. an unannounced trip to afghanistan, telling us troops that the taliban wanted to agree to a ceasefire. it has focused attention speaking at bagram airfield, on the toxic masculinity, he also met the afghan president, weak laws and official indifference he thanked american and afghan soldiers, which endanger millions who he said were responsible of russian women. for the taliban's desire for an agreement. the first funerals have been held in vietnam for some of the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in south—east england last month. families of 16 victims have held services. the other bodies are expected to be returned to vietnam this weekend. the world health organisation says it's lost access to a key ebola hit community in the eastern democratic republic of congo after four health workers were killed in an attack on a treatment centre. a police investigation is underway. russia doesn't have a national now on bbc news, our world. domestic violence law but inside the parliament,

russia faces a deadly epidemic of domestic violence. one woman is working hard lucy ash meets the families whose to introduce one. extraordinary stories have sparked a national debate and the politicians who are campaigning for changes in the law and better protection for those at risk. it contains discussion of domestic violence which some viewers may find upsetting. oksana pushkina is the deputy head of the parliamentary committee for women and children. she was one of the very few mps to take a strong stance russia can be a dangerous against the decriminalisation place for women. law in 2017. it has a deadly culture that takes some guts, because she is affiliated of domestic violence. with the political party loyal to president vladimir putin, which passed the law. across the country, hundreds of women are killed every year by partners and relatives.

but now, some russian women are fighting back, with a new wave of activism. this year, russian society was rocked by a big court case. three sisters accused of murdering their father injuly 2018 were found to have been physically and sexually abused by him for years.

krestina, angelina and maria confessed to attacking their sleeping father, in russia, tackling domestic mikhail khachaturyan, with a hunting knife and a hammer. abuse has never been a priority for lawmakers. but this recent debate they face up to 20 years in prison. in the parliament is a sign that the government is beginning to take the problem more seriously. here, pushkina is pushing to introduce restraining orders to keep violent partners mikhail khachaturyan‘s body was found in the third—floor landing of this block, where he lived away from victims. she says the recent increase with his daughters. in russian domestic violence cases in the european court after a public outcry, of human rights have the sisters have been released embarrassed the government. from prison and are leading relatively normal lives, with some restrictions while awaiting trial. but pushkina is facing a lot of opposition, and her critics jump i can't speak to the sisters to some odd conclusions. while the case is being investigated, but i can talk to their mother. aurelia dunduk was herself a victim

of constant abuse from her husband, mikhail, for many years. at first, she tried going to police, but that only made matters worse. eventually, he kicked her out.

earlier this year, an archpriest of the russian orthodox church told a radio station that women are more submissive and generally less intelligent than men. smart women, he said, are rare. those are the words of a man who heads the commission on the protection of women, children and families. and it's attitudes like these that help to explain why tackling domestic violence is still not very high up on the agenda in this country. this high—profile case has shone a powerful light on the scourge that same archpriest has also stated of domestic violence. that even the term ‘domestic violence‘ is linked to radical western feminism and is incompatible with russian family values.

hundreds of thousands have signed a petition calling for the sisters‘ release. activists at weekly pickets blame russia's legal system for turning anton sorvachev is a family lawyer. a blind eye and forcing twice divorced himself, he specialises in defending the teenagers to defend themselves. the interests of men in family break—ups and he believes the status russia's most famous opposition punk band, pussy riot, performed at a concert quo is in favour of women. fundraiser for the sisters. he also has his own show on youtube with overtly misogynist views, and he is outraged by the idea of restraining orders. this is a theatre performance which tells the story of the khachaturyan sisters, but the actors also tell the audience about their own experiences.

you think it is the woman that should leave the family home in the case of domestic violence? but all too often, the police don‘t domestic abuse is still take the necessary action to protect the victims of domestic abuse. relatively taboo here. many believe the state shouldn't poke its nose into private, family business. but the khachaturyan case sparked a kind of russia me too movement. anna‘s 29—year—old daughter alyona verba was brutally murdered by her husband in today, women battling the culture this very apartment. of domestic abuse have finally

started to gain a voice. he stabbed her 57 times and then left for work. in the morning, their 7—year—old son nikita went into his mother‘s anna rivina has opened a walk—in bedroom and found her body. help centre in moscow called no to violence, where women can get legal and psychological support. the centre is also raising awareness through slick social media campaigns, including this one, where famous russian men say it is uncool to hit women. one of the main problems is why

domestic violence still exists. it is the generations. there is connection with generations, and of course, if a young boy or girl grows up in a family where they see it, day by day, for them, it'sjust a normal thing. they just cannot understand why it's not ok. and for us, it's the main thing, is not only to protect or to prevent, but to explain that this is violence, this is not ok. i can say that there is a big difference since then, 2015, when i started this work. now, it's much easier. now, it's more obvious for people that this problem exists, and now it's much more obvious for people that it's not about women. it's about human rights. and of course, a few years ago,, we had decriminalisation of domestic violence, as people's first time.

anna rivina is referring to a controversial law passed in 2017 which scrapped prison sentences for first—time abusers. beatings which didn't require hospital treatment were classed as administrative offences, not crimes. some say this has led to an upsurge in violence. one of the biggest problems in tackling domestic violence is the lack of reliable statistics. police registered more than 13,000 assaults against wives by husbands last year. but that figure only includes married women, and the true figure is likely to be much higher. 26—year—olds margarita gracheva, a mother—of—two, was initially a victim of so—called minor harm. although former police captain sergei gustyatnikov was convicted of murder, he hasn‘t been stripped

her husband had hit her of his parental rights. and threatened her with a knife. but, when she went to the police, they said the investigation anna and her grandson can would take 20 days. only hope for a change in russia‘s legal system. then they dropped the case. one month later, her husband took her into the woods and chopped off her hands. the doctors were able to save one of them, but not the other. a crowdfunding campaign paid for a prosthetic hand, the appalling cases in this film might have been prevented, and margarita has resolved to stay if only the right strong for her children. measures been in place. russia desperately needs a domestic violence law, but those who are fighting for change have many tough battles ahead. margarita has just published a book about her recovery. she is now able to look after her children on her own, 00:11:53,384 --> 2147483051:42:41,406 in her apartment, and is keen 2147483051:42:41,406 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 to go back to work.

hello there. yesterday we had much brighter weather push into northern areas of the uk, so through the afternoon in scotland, we had skies like these — a bit of sunshine coming through. that was one of our weather watch pictures from around about the fort william area in the highlands. the sunnier skies were associated with the colder air, and that colder air is pushing southwards. and so it is going to bring a change in our weather, a change to drier weather, with more sunshine to go around. but cold by day and by night, with some sharp overnight frosts just around the corner. indeed, for those of you getting up early on friday, we‘re looking at a cold start to the day, a risk of a few icy stretches as rain clears and temperatures drop away. showers continue to affect northern and eastern scotland, and some of our eastern coastal counties of england. but across inland areas, particularly for the northern half

of the uk, it‘s a cold start to the day, with a touch of frost outside. now, through friday morning, there will be plenty of sunshine for the vast majority of the country. but again, some patchy cloud coming and going across northern scotland, and running down these eastern coastal areas of scotland and england as well, bringing plenty of showers to these coastal areas. inland, though, plenty of sunshine. but through the afternoon, temperatures struggling — just 3—7 degrees celsius, something like that. and then, as we head through friday evening and overnight, we keep those clear skies. could be a few mist and fog patches forming, but it‘s going to be a cold night, with a widespread and sharp frost developing for most areas of the country. well, that takes us into the weekend, and high pressure‘s still with us for the most part, bringing a continuation of the dry, settled, sunny story. but this low pressure gets close enough to the south—west to threaten a bit of rain into south—west england. certainly there‘ll be more cloud across these south—western areas, and a cold wind will develop as well. elsewhere, a few mist and fog patches to start the day, slow to clear, but for most of us, more in the way of sunshine again. there will be a few showers coming

and going for northern areas of scotland. now, through saturday evening, that rain could extend a little bit further eastwards, to threaten dorset, perhaps into the isle of wight for a time, before pulling back southwards as the low pressure moves south into france. high pressure then takes over. could have this little weather front across northern scotland bringing some slightly thicker cloud here on sunday, and a greater number of showers moving in across the far north. a change in the wind direction brings showers into the thames estuary, so it‘ll likely be quite wet at times into the north—east of kent. but, away from these areas, plenty of sunshine again. after a cold and frosty start, temperatures 4—7 degrees celsius, and we keep the cold weather for the first part of the new week. it gets milder towards the end of next week. that‘s your weather.

a very warm welcome to bbc news. my name‘s mike embley. our top stories: serving up a thanksgiving surprise in afghanistan — president trump tells us troops the taliban‘s pushing for a ceasefire.

the taliban wants to make a deal — we‘ll see if they want to make a deal — it‘s got to be a real deal but we‘ll see, but they want to make a deal and they only want to make a deal because you‘re doing a greatjob. that‘s the only reason they want to make a deal. the first funerals in vietnam for some of the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in the uk last month. a setback in the fight against ebola — four health workers are killed in the democratic republic of congo. anger at australia‘s bushfire crisis — after 6 deaths and widespread destruction,