good afternoon. as russian troops intensify their attacks in the donbas region in eastern ukraine, the foreign secretary liz truss says she wants modern weapons to be sent to moldova to prevent it being attacked by russian forces. the country lies on the border with ukraine and there are concerns it could become russia's next target. this report from our correspondent richard galpin contans some flashing images.

the russian armed forces are now intensifying attacks in the eastern dom bess region of ukraine. they've made advances after heavy bombardment of ukrainian positions at —— donbas region. there are now concerns they could turn their attentions to another country, moldova, which used to be part of the soviet union. it is not a member of nato so it is not protected from russian aggression. it lies between romania and ukraine and within it is the russian backed separatist region of transnistria. one month ago there was a series of explosions in the area raising concerns the war could widen. today the british foreign secretary liz truss made clear there is a serious threat which she says russia trying to restore what is described as greater russia. in another move indicating how far russia will go in destabilising countries, it has now been revealed that moscow has cut gas supplies to

finland, the country at one of several now hoping to join nato. meanwhile president biden currently on a visit to south korea has spoken of the need for a global response to the war started by the kremlin. putin's war against ukraine is not just a matter for europe, putin's war against ukraine is not just a matterfor europe, it putin's war against ukraine is not just a matter for europe, it is an attack on democracy and the international principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. the republic of korea and the united states stand together, part of a global response with our allies and partners around the world. , ., a, , . ., allies and partners around the world. , ., ., ., . world. this morning moscow announced president biden, _ world. this morning moscow announced president biden, us _ world. this morning moscow announced president biden, us secretary - world. this morning moscow announced president biden, us secretary of - president biden, us secretary of state antony blinken and cia chief william burns have all been banned from entering russia. richard galpin, bbc news. let's assess the situation inside ukraine now with james waterhouse who's in kyiv.

while russia intensifies activity in the east, for the mr zelensky saying diplomacy is the only solution. what can we read into his comments? right now i think that's _ can we read into his comments? right now i think that's the _ can we read into his comments? i mt now i think that's the most likely outcome. because the other alternatives are a change of heart uneven change of leadership in russia which is far less likely. —— even a change of leadership. zelensky has made it clear he does not have the means as it stands to push the russians back which is why he urges people to stay cautious about the eventual outcome. nor are there any stains of the ukrainian resistance easing in any way. —— nor are there any signs. the donbas in the east is still russia's priority and we are hearing ukrainian forces, they are throwing everything at the luhansk region, possibly because of their increased movement now the city of mariupol has fallen.

president biden and his south korean counterpart have agreed to hold larger military drills and deploy more us weapons if necessary to deter north korea. mr biden — who's on his first visit to asia as president, also said he was open to discussions with north korea. our seoul correspondent jean mackenzie joins us now. how significant are these talks? the focus of this trip and talks were supposed to be on how these countries could work more closely together to combat china's growing dominance in asia but as is often the case north korea has managed to dominate. because intelligence over the past few days has shown north korea is getting ready to test a major missile or even nuclear weapon. today the two presidents took the opportunity to urge kim jong—un to come back to the negotiating table and they said they were ready and willing to talk to him but this is nothing new, they've been saying this for years and kim john un has refused to engage and

continue building up his nuclear weapons. what was particularly significant is how much emphasis on the two leaders put on getting ready to prepare for an attack by the north. they agreed they will increase their military exercises and they also, the united states said it was prepared to send more weapons to south korea if they were needed. clearly the hopes of achieving a breakthrough are not particularly high.— particularly high. thank you very much. opposition parties are demanding that the prime minister explains a meeting with the senior civil servant sue gray over her report into parties held in downing street during lockdown. it's emerged the pair met several weeks ago, but there are conflicting accounts of what was discussed. our political correspondent jonathan blake is here — what can you tell us about this meeting? the prime minister and sue gray met but exactly when and what was discussed and who arranged it is less clear. that is important in a

second. downing street confirmed the meeting and we were told by a senior source last night that was arranged at sue gray's request and practical and process issues were discussed such as what photos will be included as evidence when the report was published. a spokesperson for the sue gray investigation disputed that account and we are told photos were not discussed and it was a senior official in number ten who first suggested sue gray might want to update the prime minister. this matters because it is a hugely sensitive for the prime minister to meet the person tasked with investigating him and everyone working under him for breaking lockdown laws. that is why downing street is at pains to avoid suggestion the prime minister summoned her or they have any influence over the process and it is also why labour are calling for an urgent explanation.— also why labour are calling for an urgent explanation. thank you very much. pharmacists are to be

given more flexibility to deal with shortages of hormone replacement therapy medicines. they'll be given temporary powers to exchange certain hrt drugs without a new prescription. matt graveling has the details. so i can get tired — i didn't used to get tired, i've always had quite a lot of energy. it can make you feel anxious when you would never normally get anxiety, so you can feel worried about things that are really silly and not understand why. just two symptoms of the menopause experienced by yasmin, who got her life back on track by treating them with hormone replacement therapy — or hrt. but for yasmin — like many others — a recent lack of supply has led to frustration, and the return of symptoms. a lot admin — life admin — goes into trying to work out and organise trying to get medication, and going between different pharmacies, talking to a gp, having to phone a gp all the time, having to try and source them. the government have brought in two big changes to try and tackle the shortage of hrt. the first, to limit supply to three months at the time. the second is to give pharmacists the power to slightly change prescriptions —

so if they're out of stock of one item, they can change it for something similar. there are risks for women who are either coming off hrt, or changing hrt. and very often, even if you give a woman the same product but it's made by a different manufacturer, they will notice a difference in how their symptoms are being managed. so it's not the ideal solution, but it's certainly helping us get medicine out to women who are currently struggling to get those products. experts say anyone who has questions or concerns about hrt should speak to their pharmacist or doctor. matt gravelling, bbc news. in australia, projections suggest the opposition labour party has defeated prime minister scott morrison's coalition in the general election. it's the first time voters have gone to the polls there since 2019. our correspondent shaimaa khalil is at the labour party hq in sydney. bring us up right up—to—date. i

think you can probably hear how it is going. labour hq in central sydney, the mood is one of celebration, confidence and of hoping this is going to be their night. the projections as they stand as the liberals are out and the labour party is in for the first time in nine years. what is still unknown is whether anthony albanese lee, the leader of the labour party is going to form a minority government or majority. in case they do not get a majority and they have to form a coalition, the likely candidates will beat the independents, newly elected independence and the green party. they've done so well in this election, the independents, they've challenged safe government seats and won and that tells you a story. firstly, these are female candidates in a country where politics is seen as very toxic for women and people have turned their back on a major

parties, especially on the governing liberal party. thank you very much. with all the sport now, here's olly foster at the bbc sport centre. the scottish cup final kicks off in just under two hours. rangers are facing hearts at hampden park. jane dougall is there for us. jane, rangers looking to lift the trophy for a 34th time, but a lot will depend on how they respond to that crushing defeat in europa league final a few days ago. wednesday night was a huge blow for rangers after playing for a 120 minutes in the searing heat in seville they lost on penalties to eintracht frankfurt and to pick themselves up from that physically and mentally will be a huge challenge and especially to do it in time to play in this final. rangers also narrowly lost out on winning the league to their bitter rivals celtic so they want to finish the season with some silver. hearts will

want rangers to have tired and heavy legs for this final but regardless of that, hearts have had a very impressive season on the robbie neilson, they finished third, just after being promoted and they've made it here to the scottish cup final. it has been ten years since hearts won the trophy, 13 years since rangers won it, both looking definitely to win this trophy, preparation is well under way, it'll be an exciting afternoon. man? be an exciting afternoon. many thanks indeed. _ rory mcilroy says he's still in contention at the us pga championship despite slipping from the top of the leaderboard. he's fifth at the halfway stage, five strokes behind the american will zalatoris. he fired a bogey—free round of 65 to lead the second mens major of the year on 9 under par. qualifying for tomorrow's spanish grand prix is later this afternoon — the final practice session has just finished in barcelona. championship leader charles leclerc was quickest in his ferrari, ahead of red bull's max verstappen.

it was an improved performance from mercedes — third and fourth fastest — although lewis hamilton was again slower than his teammate george russell. that's all the sport for now. busy afternoon and you can follow it all on the bbc sport website. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at 6:21 — bye for now. hello. you're watching the bbc news channel. this weekend, parts of spain could reach the highest temperatures recorded for 20 years. the country has been experiencing abnormally hot weather for may, as temperatures climbed to betwen ten and 15 degrees celsius above average. the risk of wildfires has now been set at "very high" causing the government to activate an emergency plan for excess temperatures. our correspondent, guy hedgecoe,

told us how rare this is. i'm in a park in central madrid. there's a bit of shade here and it's 26 degrees at the moment, which is pretty moderate, but it's going to increase, the temperature is going to increase throughout the day into the mid 30s. but it's down in the south of the country, in andalusia in particular, where we are expecting to see extremely high temperatures, possibly hitting the low 40s. those kind of temperatures in southern spain are not that unusual in the summer months. what is extremely unusual is to see those kinds of temperatures at this time of year in mid—may and that, the experts tell us, is almost unprecedented. we very rarely see that and that is the big concern here and why the government has triggered its national plan to try and protect people from the heat and to try and avoid the risk of wildfires as well. pablo resco sanchez

is a senior policy advisor at the national farming union in spain. he told me about the impact the heatwave will have on agriculture. when you want to measure the effects of this heatwave, you have to take into account first the intensity of it, in this case the temperature, the time, the time extension, how long it's going to take, how long it's going to last, and the third and most important, the vulnerability of the sector you want to study. the two sectors are more or less clear, it's15 degrees above normal, which in absolute terms is not so high because in summer we're used to this kind of weather,

but as your colleague mentioned, we are in may and many plants are in the most sensitive stage, so they are more vulnerable. in horticulture, we have identified two main sectors which is the olive sector, olive trees which are blooming. if you come to spain and you are allergic to all olive pollen, they are blooming right now. this heatwave will damage the flowers, we do not know how much because we are still in the heatwave so we will have to wait, and that will have special consequences because spain is the biggest olive oil producer in the world, around 40% of the olive oil in the world is produced in spain. and cereals, this heatwave may dry

the plant or the grains. in this case, we are not alone, france and india are experiencing hot weather as well. india has already partially banned exports. the united states and canada are also experiencing drought periods, which will have consequences for their harvests. we don't know yet what's going to happen with russia and ukraine. picking up on the situation with cereals, our viewers are well aware of the uncertainty caused by the war in ukraine so if we add to that the difficulty with the harvest in places like spain, that really is a big issue that people need to be watching out for, isn't it? of course. it's in the news, it's everywhere, food concerns are rising all over the world.

government, international institutions like the european commission are very aware and very concerned about what's going to happen in the next months, in the next harvest, because we are talking about food security, we already know what happens from the previous crisis at the beginning of 2011 or 2007, so it's a major issue. if it's going to get hotter more regularly in spain and other countries, what are spanish farmers trying to do to adapt to those changing conditions? yes, they are trying to adapt. we have released information about the possible consequences of this heatwave, drought seasons, because spain is one of the hotspots considered by the ipcc so especially in our sector we are very concerned of the possible consequences.

if we continue on the path of emissions we are currently on, we can see wheat yield diminished by about a0%. there are measures installed to reduce the risk.

there is a very competitive system of insurance, horticultural insurance, and irrigation is expanding with some requirements. short uses of water. but it still a problem because it's useful for a moderate warming climate change, but if we reach severe warming conditions, maybe even those adaptation measures will be limited. australian networks say labor will form the next government after the liberal—national coalition has failed to win enough seats. it is still not clear whether it will be a majority administration — or a coalition with minor parties such as the greens who have done well. it means the end of the leadership of scott morrison and anthony albanese will be crowned

australia's prime minister. tom mcilroy, is a political reporter for the australian financial review in sydney. he is also at the labor event. on the question if labor can form a majority government or will have to go into coalition, what are your thoughts? it go into coalition, what are your thoughts?— go into coalition, what are your thou~hts? ~ ., thoughts? it looks like labor could form a majority — thoughts? it looks like labor could form a majority government, - thoughts? it looks like labor could form a majority government, they| thoughts? it looks like labor could i form a majority government, they are a few seats short. there is little prospect of a formal coalition involving a labor government. both sides are completely —— have completely ruled out forming coalitions with minor parties or independents. there is an agreement that would seek cooperation to pass a budget bills and keep the parliament moving to avoid another election. it will depend on the final numbers and especially the number of independent seats. one motivated —— motivated women are running in inner—city seats. fine

motivated -- motivated women are running in inner-city seats.- running in inner-city seats. one of the interesting _ running in inner-city seats. one of the interesting stories _ running in inner-city seats. one of the interesting stories in _ running in inner-city seats. one of the interesting stories in this - the interesting stories in this election is the number of voters who have turned away from the biggest parties to go for those independents or smaller parties. it’s parties to go for those independents or smaller parties.— or smaller parties. it's a fascinating _ or smaller parties. it's a fascinating trend. - or smaller parties. it's a fascinating trend. it's i or smaller parties. it's a - fascinating trend. it's beginning to become a very diverse map tonight. wins and losses for labor around the country. also for the liberal—national but they look like they might pick up some seats. it's going to be fascinating to see how parliament works for the next three years. it will be a big task to win back their traditional voter base and push up their primary vote. it could leave liberal—national in the political wilderness. could leave liberal-national in the political wilderness.— could leave liberal-national in the political wilderness. tom, thank you for the political wilderness. tom, thank you forthe undate- _ a new measure has been announced

in the uk to help thousands of women struggling to access hormone replacement therapy, a treatment used to ease the symptoms of menopause. pharmacists will now be temporarily allowed to offer alternatives if they can't source the exact drug prescribed by a doctor. thorrun govind is chair of the royal pharmaceutical society and is herself a community pharmacist. how much do you think this autonomy really needs to exist with community pharmacists already, never mind community pharmacists being told you've got this special dispensation in this particular situation to dispense medicines? absolutely and throu~h dispense medicines? absolutely and throu . h the dispense medicines? absolutely and through the pandemic _ dispense medicines? absolutely and through the pandemic we _ dispense medicines? absolutely and through the pandemic we have - dispense medicines? absolutely and through the pandemic we have seen| through the pandemic we have seen how necessary community pharmacy teams have been to the local communities. what we are really saying here and calling on the government to consider is we need to look more widely at this at the measures and flexibility community pharmacists have. we would like to

have some that are hospital colleagues have where they can change the item, for example, if the item prescribed as tablets we would like to be able to prescribe capsules, it's as simple as that. we have seen during the pandemic the need for people to have access to fast care and be able to walk into their community pharmacies. it's a hindrance that we continually have to go back to the prescribers to ask for these items to be changed when there are measures in place and community pharmacies which could help patients and get them access to speedier treatment.— speedier treatment. looking specifically _ speedier treatment. looking specifically at _ speedier treatment. looking specifically at hrt _ speedier treatment. looking i specifically at hrt treatments, there have been stories of women sharing their prescriptions amongst themselves in order to try to help each other out. what's going to happen for women who are looking to access these hrt medicines? we know there have been shortages. will this ease the situation, do you think? we are ease the situation, do you think? - are really concerned that people have been having to go down this

route of using marketplaces online to obtain such medication because ocrassy is pharmacists we are highly regulated and we want to make sure that the product provided is strict with that product which you cannot always determine if it is online. the important thing here is we wanted to be widened and better considered for community pharmacists to be able to assist the local patients in the public and also reduce the burden on prescribers. but if a woman is concerned about potentially mixing her prescription with another prescription for menopause treatment, at least a community pharmacist can advise that women, this is fine, this is safe, or not. ~ , , ., , women, this is fine, this is safe, ornot. , , ., women, this is fine, this is safe, or not. ~ , ., ., or not. absolutely and we are assistin: or not. absolutely and we are assisting prescribers - or not. absolutely and we are assisting prescribers with - or not. absolutely and we are assisting prescribers with the | assisting prescribers with the alternatives to prescribe and those protocols which you have just spoken about, they are very strict and there's lots of governance in place to make sure that women are getting

exactly what they need. this is really expert driven and we are clinical health care professionals so we are making sure that women are getting exactly what they need in the care that they require. we have trained for over five years and our work really is at the heart of what we do, whenever we work in pharmacy, it is looking at the safety for patients and we are looking at how a drug acts, what its side—effects are, how long it is going to stay in the body, how it should be stored so we are always thinking about what is safest for our patients.— safest for our patients. thank you very much — safest for our patients. thank you very much for— safest for our patients. thank you very much for talking _ safest for our patients. thank you very much for talking to _ safest for our patients. thank you very much for talking to us. - emergency plans are being drawn up to make sure some passenger and freight services can still operate if railway workers go on strike this summer. more than 40,000 members of the rmt union are being balloted in a dispute over pay and jobs. the union claims it could be the "biggest rail strike in modern history". the government says a "fair deal

forstaff, passengers and taxpayers" is needed. doctors in the uk say they're worried that monkeypox could have a "massive impact" on access to sexual health services. staff at clinics are having to isolate if they come into contact with anyone who's infected. monkeypox is spread through close contact but isn't usually a sexually transmitted disease. the extent and cause of the outbreak — now in a dozen countries — is being investigated by the world health organisation. mark lobel has more details. monkeypox under the microscope as it spreads through social networks across europe, the us, canada and australia. what is unusual is that these cases are now springing into multiple nonendemic country, there is a pretty explosive growth of these cases all of a sudden. in madrid, the regional health department says 23 suspected cases were transmitted through mucus during sexual relations in a sauna. in the uk, where most of the 20

identified cases have been in gay and bisexual men, sexual health clinics in the capital have stopped people walking in altogether. 1a cases have been reported in portugal with instances in germany, france, belgium and the netherlands. in america, there has been a positive test for one resident returning from canada, where five cases have been reported alongside two dozen suspected ones. australia has also reported its first case in a traveller who recently returned from britain. monkeypox is caught from someone who has the rash and an open sore with the virus in it. it can then enter broken skin on someone else or through their eyes, nose or mouth. this virus causes a very mild infection. it causes a rash, sometimes it causes a fever and muscle pains and swollen glands and occasionally it becomes very serious and can be fatal.

it can be treated with the smallpox vaccine or with an anti—viral drug or by giving it time, by fighting it off and then gaining natural immunity. i do not think monkeypox has any ability to cause a pandemic. because it is an inefficient transmitter. because it is not contagious during the incubation period. because we have the smallpox vaccine that is a tried—and—true countermeasure to stop these outbreaks. there are about 80 confirmed cases so far and 50 pending investigation, according to the world health organization. it says it is working to better understand the extent and cause of this atypical outbreak reported across a dozen countries. mark lobel, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. europe sees tornadoes each year but they don't do much damage but every

now and again we get a significant system like these ones that went into germany on friday. the radar picture picking up this storm cell going through the paderborn area which had the tornado on it. apologies, that was not the domestic weather forecast for the uk but we will have a full forecast at the top of the hour. celebrations for australia's labor party — it appears to have won the country's general election. it means this man, anthony albanese is set to form the next government. here, opposition parties demand an explaination from borisjohnson after he met with the senior civil servant, sue gray, ahead of the publication of her report into lockdown parties at downing street. finland says russia has cut off supplies of natural gas — days after finland announced

it was applying to join nato. meanwhile in ukraine, russia intensifies its attacks in the donbas region as its forces capture more territory in the south and east. and pharmacists have been given temporary power to make swaps to women's hormone replacement therapy prescriptions, amid ongoing shortages. rangers face heart of midlothian in the scottish cup final this afternoon, looking to put behind them the disappointment of their europa league heartbreak on wednesday. now on bbc news...addiction: the road to recovery — getting off the drink and drugs. jeremy cooke spends a year following mike as he rebuilds his life in a town trying a new way to treat addiction. cocaine is a devil, to be fair. this is a story of drugs and booze and addiction.