a two—year—old boy who was taunted and beaten for months. the old bailey heard how kyrell matthews was treated like a punch bag and had 41 fractures to his ribs when he collapsed and died at his home in thornton heath in south london. his mother, phylesia shirley, was convicted of manslaughter, while her then partner, kemar brown, was found guilty of muder. labour have held the seat of birmingham erdington in the by—election caused by the death of jack dromey. paulette hamilton, who's worked as an nhs nurse for the past 25 years, won with a majority of more than 3,200 votes, and an increased share of the vote. the conservatives came second. turnout was low at 27%.

this is a fantastic result for the labour party, we are making real progress, this is one of our best results in urgent and for many years, and when we think where we were in 2019 with one of our worst general election results, we are really making progress so this is a fantastic reflection, i think, on two years of hard work for the labour party. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. the western half of the country has had the lion's share of the sunshine today, there is a risk of isolated showers this afternoon but further east it is cloudy and grey, a misty and murky morning and there were outbreaks of rain. this was staffordshire earlier. looking at the satellite picture we can see the weather front setting particularly to the east of the pennines throughout the afternoon with the best sunshine further west. that will gradually drift east, it will

take its time, between might see a slow improvement across eastern scotland. a few isolated showers through wales and south—west england, top temperatures throughout the afternoon generally around six to 12 degrees. that rainbow confined itself to eastern england throughout the night tonight and we continue to see those skies, temperatures will away, a chilly start to the weekend, temperatures as low as —405 in a rural, sheltered glens. we will keep those temperatures above freezing. does temperatures as low as “4 or —5. it will turn gradually drier for us all, but at this time of year you had to be careful because there could be overnight frost. if you are a gardener, take note. rain to the east of england will gradually drift steadily westwards through the afternoon, light and patchy, the best of the sunshine in scotland,

northern ireland, northern fringes of wales and south—west england. generally around eight to 10 degrees, the high. high pressure will establish through the weekend and quiet things for us all. for the start of sunday, expect a drier start, there could be more cloudy and still more of a breeze towards the south—east, but generally it will be dry, there will be sunshine coming through and on the whole quite quiet for us all. temperatures probably sitting at eight to 10 degrees as a maximum but with most in china to might feel that little bit better. looking ahead, the high—pressure state with us for monday and tuesday, the emphasis is a dry, settled story. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are. good news teams where you are. afternoon.

this is the main street, the suicide bomber ended in that area. he first attacked all the volunteers that were standing over there and later on he opened fire on hello. you're watching bbc news, i'm 0lly foster with the latest from the bbc sport centre. after a troubled build up, the winter paralympic games are under way in beijing the opening ceremony has been taking place at the birds nest stadium, great britain has a team of 2a in china, wheelchair curlers gregor ewan and meggan dawson—farrell were chosen to be the flag—bearers. the team returned from the last games with seven medals, one of them gold. against the odds, ukraine's 21 paralympians have made it to beijing and were given a great reception when they entered the stadium. nine days of competition starts tomorrow. many of the nations had threatened to pull out of the games had russian and belarusian athletes been allowed to take part, forcing the ipc to bar them yesterday, reverse their decision to let them stay. earlier today, russia admitted that they had no legal grounds

to appeal and their athletes would be leaving china. with more, here's our reporterjoe lynskey. today in beijing, they light the flame for a paralympic games that is overshadowed. preparations dominated by the war in ukraine and it has changed the competition. 71 russian para—athletes have now been removed and 12 from belarus. the only way to stop mass boycotts and make these games go ahead. it is stop mass boycotts and make these games go ahead-— games go ahead. it is hard but we cannot keep _ games go ahead. it is hard but we cannot keep pretending _ games go ahead. it is hard but we cannot keep pretending sport - games go ahead. it is hard but we cannot keep pretending sport and| cannot keep pretending sport and politics are not linked. the medal table is soft politics, so it is really tough. but unfortunately, we are in a situation that none of us experience in our lifetime. russia sa the experience in our lifetime. russia say the ipc's _ experience in our lifetime. russia say the ipc's decision _ experience in our lifetime. russia say the ipc's decision is _ experience in our lifetime. russia l say the ipc's decision is unfounded, making their para—athletes look the perpetrators. the russian team have trained for years and compete for medals and their funding, but now sport has a role in war. figs

medals and their funding, but now sport has a role in war.— sport has a role in war. as history has shown — sport has a role in war. as history has shown us. — sport has a role in war. as history has shown us, there _ sport has a role in war. as history has shown us, there are - sport has a role in war. as history has shown us, there are other - has shown us, there are other powerful ways of isolating rogue regimes. culture and sport can be equally as effective as economic sanctions if used in the right way. ukraine have a full team in china, of 20 para—athletes. for them, it is extraordinaryjust of 20 para—athletes. for them, it is extraordinary just to of 20 para—athletes. for them, it is extraordinaryjust to be here and it is symbolic. a£111" extraordinary 'ust to be here and it is symbolic.— extraordinary 'ust to be here and it is symboiis— is symbolic. our presence here at the paralympic— is symbolic. our presence here at the paralympic games _ is symbolic. our presence here at the paralympic games is - is symbolic. our presence here at the paralympic games is not - is symbolic. our presence here at i the paralympic games is not merely is symbolic. our presence here at - the paralympic games is not merely a presence will stop this is a sign that ukraine was, is and will remain a country, and for us, it is a matter of principle to be here, together with the paralympic family, together with the paralympic family, to be here as a symbol. a symbol of ukraine that is a lie. i to be here as a symbol. a symbol of ukraine that is a lie.— ukraine that is a lie. i hope ukraine that is a lie. i hope ukraine is _ ukraine that is a lie. i hope ukraine is on _ ukraine that is a lie. i hope ukraine is on the _ ukraine that is a lie. i hope ukraine is on the medal- ukraine that is a lie. i hope i ukraine is on the medal table ukraine that is a lie. i hope - ukraine is on the medal table and they have — ukraine is on the medal table and they have an amazing games and actually— they have an amazing games and actuallyjust gives a little bit of li-ht actuallyjust gives a little bit of light to — actuallyjust gives a little bit of light to what is going on. great britain have _ light to what is going on. great britain have a _ light to what is going on. great britain have a target _ light to what is going on. great britain have a target of- light to what is going on. great britain have a target of at - light to what is going on. great britain have a target of at least five medals, and this woman has the

know—how. she won gold and now goes again. and just like at the olympics, they are now looking to 0lympics, they are now looking to inspire. i olympics, they are now looking to ins-ire. ., , olympics, they are now looking to ins-ire. . , ., ., ,, inspire. i have been here for a week now, the inspire. i have been here for a week now. they have _ inspire. i have been here for a week now, they have been _ inspire. i have been here for a week now, they have been preparing - inspire. i have been here for a week now, they have been preparing for. now, they have been preparing for eight months and years and we are ready to go out and compete as this paralympics gb team and hopefully over the next couple of days, the emphasis moves on the actual sport, and feel play, that is hugely important to us.— and feel play, that is hugely important to us. some para- 01ympians — important to us. some para- olympians will _ important to us. some para- olympians will ski _ important to us. some para- olympians will ski down - important to us. some para- l olympians will ski down slopes important to us. some para- - olympians will ski down slopes with 0lympians will ski down slopes with just 5% vision. these games celebrate achievements against the odds, but this year they started in the shadows of events in ukraine. the chelsea manager thomas tuchel has praised the club's owner roman abramovich. the german says he'll be staying at stamford bridge, despite all the uncertainty with the club now up for sale. the russian billionaire has overseen an unprecedented period of success since he took over 19 years ago.

with growing calls that he should face sanctions because of his alleged ties with the russian regime, he is now looking for a buyer. it is exceptional. i mean, it speaks for itself, he is and was passionate owner who cares, actually, out of the team, about the club, about the performance, which is, personally, very rare, and makes it very special. china's broadcasters will have a blackout of premier league matches this weekend because of the planned shows of support for ukraine. china is a close political ally of russia, and rights holders have informed the premier league that they will not be showing any games with more gestures of solidarity with ukraine planned, just as there were last weekend and also during the recent fa cup ties. that's all the sport for now. thank you. some breaking news, in

the last half— thank you. some breaking news, in the last half an _ thank you. some breaking news, in the last half an hour, _ thank you. some breaking news, in the last half an hour, there - thank you. some breaking news, in the last half an hour, there has - the last half an hour, there has been a statement by the ministry of foreign affairs ukraine on the shelling of that nuclear power plant, zaporizhzhia in ukraine. it said that as a result of the shelling, a fire broke out, killing and injuring several people, adding that nuclear power plant at chernobyl are both currently under the control of the russian armed forces. it went on to say that if at any point the cooling process in the nuclear reactor is disturbed, that could cause radioactive damage across large territories and have irreparable consequences for europe as mac environment. let's have a look now at nuclear power in ukraine as a whole. it has got altogether four operational nuclear power plant two with 15 reactors located to zaporizhzhia, the sight of thursday night's fire, is the largest nuclear power plant in europe. ukraine has a

grim history of nuclear disaster, on the 26th of april 1986, that reactor at ukraine's chernobyl plant exploded, leading to several deaths, a mass evacuation and radioactive materials being deposited in many parts of europe. to this day, it has been considered the worst nuclear disaster in history. yet nuclear energy is still hugely important to ukraine's electricity supply, and according to figures from the international energy agency, in 2019, nuclear energy accounted for some 54% of ukraine's electricity generation. a little earlier, my colleague spoke to ukraine cosmic energy minister, who told him ukrainian staff are still running the plant but russian forces are surrounding the perimeter. so, at this stage, the firemen managed to stop the fire. of course, we also hear

that the system is not affected at this time, and the level of radiation is normal, but i must say that of course we understand the risk and we already announce, our president already announced, that this is a real nuclear terrorism, what has happened, because they really, they shell directly to the station, they shell directly, they know what they did, but of course, you know, the question here is also, we are not happy that we discussed this in this framework, but we mention that the situation is really much more difficult than it even appears, because we are talking about six units, and it is true that zaporizhzhia is the biggest in europe, but despite that, zaporizhzhia station,

we also have storage of nuclear waste, and in case they shall this storage, we would get a really incredible situation, and that is not even the question of ukraine... it does not bear thinking about, but let us just be clear. who is in control of zaporizhzhia power plant right now? are your staff still there? because we know the russian military is surrounding the plant, but what exactly is the situation? the staff is here and the russian military, yes, they surround the station. so who is in charge? who is controlling the plant right now? at this stage, it is the staff of energoatom, the state company responsible for it. so the russian military are outside but they are not telling your staff what to do. are they intervening in any way

in the running of the plant? no, they are now trying to press the staff and also to give some orders, but the people cause tension, they are doing their work, they are doing what they are supposed to do, not to have accidents there. but, minister, i guess people are right around the world want to know, what is going to happen next? what is the strategy here? is the ukrainian military going to fight right around the perimeter of the plant? because if there is more shellfire, more violence, all of the dangers you just referred to with the storage of nuclear waste and everything else, it could still turn that plant into something we don't want to think about. that is what could happen this night, and of course all this shelling could do this, and of course, you understand that

one of the missiles which hit the first reactor could just go to the storage. and that is really the issue of nuclear safety. that is why we appeal to international atomic and nuclear energy and ask for some actions to stop this. because we have also three more stations in ukraine. we have 15 nuclear units in ukraine. you seem to be saying, minister, that the danger in zaporizhzhia and indeed potential danger in the other nuclear plants in your country is very far from over. and that is true. that is true. that is true because i cannot imagine this situation could happen even during wartime. that could happen the situation

when the military shell directly to the nuclear units, and that is once again my point, because this is notjust a question of ukraine. this is the question of global security, of the world. and that is why we ask for closing the sky, because if you see the map of ukraine, you can see that this station in different regions of ukraine, so we need to close the sky to be safe. i mean, it is notjust ukraine, it is for the whole world. that is ukraine's energy minister. let's go to the capital kyiv now stop james in let's go to the capital kyiv now stopjames in the last half an hour or so, there were air raid sirens sounding and some explosions, what is the latest?—

is the latest? there has been a bit more continuous _ is the latest? there has been a bit more continuous shelling, - is the latest? there has been a bit more continuous shelling, to - is the latest? there has been a bit more continuous shelling, to be i more continuous shelling, to be honest with you, resembling a rumble of thunder, if you like, approximately ten kilometres from where we made it, from the north—west, in the direction to my left. we had a red alert elliott meaning there was a much more immediate danger, and i think that is reflecting the intensity of the assault that kyiv is starting to experience. russian troops and army chiefs are still working their way down from the north, which is causing a lot of headaches, to join up causing a lot of headaches, to join up with that russian convoy, that a0 mile long russian convoy, so the worry is that they will encircle the city and we will see here what we have started to see in other parts of ukraine, in mariupol notably in the south—east, where it is still very much under siege, it has been heavily bombarded, especially residential areas say authorities there, and that is the worry here.

when you go through the city, they are still military checkpoints, you might get your vehicle search now, there are nervous armed volunteers around and the only crowds you see are outside the few pharmacies that remain open. it is very much a city bracing itself, but what we are seeing in the south are real gains being made by this russian advance. mariupol is under intense pressure. its population of half a million are continuing to be without running water and electricity. that bombardment is continuing. another city on the south said it has repelled russian troops as they try to enter the city, but should that fall, that would bring russian troops a lot closer to the major port city of 0desa to the south, and if russian troops were able to make that kind of territorial advantage, it would effectively seal off ukraine along the coast with the

black sea. so it is very much a tense time, as normal. hind tense time, as normal. and particularly _ tense time, as normal. and particularly tense _ tense time, as normal. and particularly tense in - tense time, as normal. and particularly tense in the - tense time, as normal. and particularly tense in the capital, is it possible, james, to say how many people, i know lots of people are living underground in shelters, but how many people are left? what proportion of the population are left in the city and how many have fled? can people still get out? people can still get out, but that window is shrinking. i am not sure how much people will take from the peace talks yesterday, where the only agreement came on the issue of humanitarian corridors, temporary ceasefire is to allow citizens to leave. most are still heading west. but it feels like the flow of people leaving is slowing. looking around, they are a fraction of people on pavements, on the roads, you can see the odd car here and there, and the driving style is often erratic, very nervous city. it is a world away

from the nine days ago, to be honest with you. i think those who have decided to stay are the effects of this onslaught, this unrelenting invasion, it is starting to have an effect. people are processing what is happening, realising their way of life as they know it has changed and realising the country they lived and has fundamentally shifted. incredibly strange atmosphere where you are. almost knowing that this assault on the city is coming but at the moment, apart from some of the she“ the moment, apart from some of the shell fire and sirens, relatively calm. , , , ., ., calm. yes, it is strange to say relatively _ calm. yes, it is strange to say relatively calm _ calm. yes, it is strange to say relatively calm when - calm. yes, it is strange to say relatively calm when we - calm. yes, it is strange to say relatively calm when we are i calm. yes, it is strange to say - relatively calm when we are talking about shellfire ten kilometres away. would you become very sensitive, another... i think that was gunfire over my shoulder. you have very sensitive... you are very sensitive to slight changes. we noticed that

continued wrangling over the horizon, we saw the interior minister attend a church service recently in the cathedral behind me, the priest there signed up to the territorial defence. they were both in military gear, both holding a prayer together. in military gear, both holding a prayertogether. i in military gear, both holding a prayer together. i think now, for those settling above ground who have decided to bare arms and fight, they are quietly realising what may be coming their way. you occasionally see smiles on street corners where soldiers talk to each other, they are joined soldiers talk to each other, they arejoined by soldiers talk to each other, they are joined by volunteers, soldiers talk to each other, they arejoined by volunteers, they soldiers talk to each other, they are joined by volunteers, they have is a yellow armband is on, a possible reflection of not appreciating what might be around the corner. of course, one of the most powerful armies in the world but a powerful army that has definitely been frustrated in this full—scale conflict by the very fact that only one significant city has fallen, on the ninth day of conflict, kherson, and that is a reflection of the resistance being

put up. but russia is resorting to more drastic measures. we have seen images today, a new era under russian control, people queueing for hours for food under russian control, people queueing for hours forfood under tight russian control, people queueing for hours for food under tight curfew restrictions. the ukrainian flag still flies there but it is very much symbolic.— still flies there but it is very much s mbolic. ., ,, , the former prime minister gordon brown has called on countries to support the creation of a special tribunal to punish vladimir putin for the crime of aggression against ukraine. he's been speaking to my colleague stephen sackur. it is entirely complementary to what the international criminal court and its lead prosecutor is doing now. he can investigate genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and that is within his remit, and 39 countries have been calling on him and supporting him in doing so. but what he cannot do is investigate the crime of aggression, a crime against peace,

the invasion that took place and the continuing aggression happening within the country. there is a gap in international law which should not be allowed not to be met, and president putin, who is clearly a president who has chosen the route of aggression, replacing law with force, replacing the principle of self—determination with some form of imperialism he is now pursuing in relation to ukraine, and it is right we bring him before a foreign international tribunal. this is based on what happened in 19a2, when the allied powers got together and said, we must do something about this crime of aggression, and it led to the nuremberg trials. we have the international criminal court but there is a gap in its remit and it could be filled by this action. to put it bluntly, do you think your proposal or actions already being taken at the international criminal court will make any difference at all to vladimir putin? yes, i do, because i think the full

range of international law ——weight of international law and international should weigh heavily upon his actions. even at this moment we have the russians taking over control of the second nuclear power station and not doing whatever any civilised power would do, the potential radiation and everything else, and we have got to hold president putin to account. the reason we are doing this is that the ukraine government is asking us to do this. the ukraine foreign minister and i spoke this morning at chatham house, and he requested the different powers concerned about what is happening in ukraine to form this international tribunal. it is therefore in support of the people in ukraine that we are doing this, and i have been talking to some of the governments around europe, as have some of the legal friends i have responsible for drawing up this declaration, and we are confident this will be

given a full hearing by the government and is one of the actions that can be taken to not only show the enormity of what president putin has done by breaking international laws, but also make him aware that there is a potential punishment if he does not cease action. gordon brown there, former prime minister, speaking to my colleague. speaking to my colleague. the polish border guard agency has confirmed more than 672,500 people have fled ukraine to poland since the war began last week, more than 99,000 people crossed the border yesterday. my colleague kasia madera is on the polish side of the border with ukraine. the highest number of people fleeing ukraine are coming to poland, and this is one of the larger border crossings, where these people have literallyjust crossed into this country. theirjourneys have been exhausting, overwhelming, to reach the safety of their neighbouring country. poland has opened its borders,

it is offering protection to these people and what happens in the first instance is that they get something warm to drink, something warm to eat, given how long they have been travelling, then they begin the next part of their journey. every couple of minutes, buses come up to this border area and they take these people onto the next stage of their journey, they will take them to reception centres a little bit further away, and that is where poles have been coming to provide their houses, to provide their homes, to open their doors to welcome these people in. poland promising that everyone will be looked after. we will pause now and take a look at the latest weather forecast. friday is shaping up to be a tale of two halves. the western half of the country had the lion's share of the sunshine today, the risk of some isolated showers propping up this afternoon, but further east, cloudy,

grey, misty and murky morning with outbreaks of rain. this is staffordshire. looking at the satellite picture, you see the cloud, the weather front to the east of the pennines throughout the afternoon with the best of the sunshine further west. as weather gradually drifts eastwards, taking its time in doing so, meaning we might see a slow improvement eastern scotland. some isolated showers in wales and south—west england, one or two quite heavy, top temperatures around six to 12 degrees. that rain will confine itself to eastern england through the night tonight, and then we see there is sky is clear. temperatures will fall away, a chilly start to our weekend, particularly in scotland, temperatures as low as —a0 minus five degrees in rural sheltered glens. where the cloud and rain is, temperatures above freezing, but generally through the weekend, and improving story. it will turn gradually dry for all of us, but at

this time of year, you must be careful because that can lead to an overnight fast. if you are a gardener, take note. —— overnight frost. the rain drift its way westwards, light and patchy, best of the sunshine scotland, northern ireland, northern england western fringes of wales and south—western england. in terms of the feel of things, 8—10. england. in terms of the feel of things, 8—10 . moving into the second half of the weekend, high pressure establishes itself and widens things down for all of us. for the start of sunday, expect a drier start, some more in the way our cloud around and still more of a breeze down towards the south—east. generally a dry day, some sunshine coming through and on the whole, quite quiet for all of us. temperature set at around 8—10 as a maximum but with more sunshine, it may feel that little bit better out there. looking ahead, the high pressure stays with us for monday

and tuesday, the emphasis will be a dry and settled story for a few days at least.

this is bbc news — this is bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the globe. and around the globe. i'm yalda hakim in western ukraine. i'm yalda hakim in western ukraine. our top stories... moscow of nuclear terror. our top stories... world leaders condemn the russian world leaders condemn the russian attack on europe's largest attack on europe's largest nuclear power plant — nuclear power plant — it is now secure — it is now secure — ukraine's president accuses ukraine's president accuses

moscow of nuclear terror. translation: we need to stop the russian military _ translation: we need to stop the russian military immediately. - translation: we need to stop the | russian military immediately. scream to your politicians. nuclear, ukraine has 15 nuclear units and if there is an explosion it is the end of everything. the international atomic energy agency says the reactor wasn't hit — and no radioactive material has been released — but the uk foreign secretary says those behind the attack need to be held to account.