welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: separatist leaders in ukraine announce a series of referendums to decide if their regions willjoin russia. western leaders queue up at the un to condemn president putin's invasion. translation: when they are responsible _ for the displacement of vast populations, the idea of organising a referendum in those regions where people have been forced to flee is the very signature of cynicism. exhuming the dead: we report from one city in eastern ukraine where the bodies of civilians are still being unearthed. further protests across iran over

the death in custody of a young woman, accused of breaking the islamic dress code. and, twilight of the tigris — why climate change is having a devastating impact on one of the world's most famous rivers. western leaders are warning president putin not to attempt to annex parts of ukraine after officials in russian—held areas of the country said they would hold referendums on becoming part of russia. there are plans for votes to take place in donetsk, luhansk, kherson and zaporizhzhia regions — here in red — but a chorus of leaders at the un general assembly in new york said such ballots would be a sham. more on the implications of such a move in a moment, but it does come as russia has

suffered a series of setbacks on the battlefield in ukraine recently. and in areas newly liberated by ukrainian forces, disturbing accounts of torture by russian soldiers are continuing to emerge. our senior international correspondent, orla guerin, reports now from the city of izyum. awarning: orla's report contains some distressing testimony. in the centre of izyum, the heart of darkness. ukrainian investigators say the russians turned this police station into a torture chamber. we were taken down to the cells in the basement. our escort checking carefully every step of the way, in case the enemy left any booby—traps. you can just imagine the fear people must have felt

when they were brought into these cells. on the walls, someone has scratched a date and it looks like the 22nd ofjune of this year. the conditions are squalid and there's just thin mattresses, no glass in the windows. people were kept here without light or heat and accounts are still emerging from those who say they were tortured here. we met one of them at the city's main hospital which somehow is functioning. mihilo has been treated here for his injuries. he is a pensioner, aged 67, but that did not stop the russians. he says they held him down and broke his arm. they suspected him of sabotage. "they tortured me for 12 days," he says.

"i was taken from there half—dead three hours "before our forces arrived. "they tortured me with an electric current. "they gave me shocks in my fingers. "how they burned. "they put needles into my back. "they were long and they put them under my skin. "here and here, inside." and across town, at the former russian command centre, a grim discovery. we are told there's blood on this axe. the chief investigator says he doesn't know whose. then, suddenly, panic. distant whistle shouting

"get to the basement," he says. police running for cover after what sounded like incoming fire. but this time, there was no explosion. in the forest at the city's edge they are still exhuming the dead. more than 160 so far, mostly civilians. officials say some had their hands tied and bore signs of torture. olaina arrives with her husband yuri. they have come to look for her father. she's caught between hope and dread. her father was last heard from on the front lines in april. "we know families who were in the same situation "as we are now," says yuri. "but they have found remains.

"they were happy to at least have a body to bury." in the countryside near izyum, ukrainian forces are still on the move. having swept forwards so fast, they have to secure their gains and plug any gaps. inside the broken city, food is in short supply. she leaves with a handful. there is no power, no running water, just war�*s long shadow. dasha cradles her son tim but can't soothe all his fears. "we are scared," she says.

"we don't know if it will be safe over the longer term. "we're on thin ice. "military actions are still going on. "victory isn't certain." she says she's praying for peace, for a brighterfuture for ukraine's children, who have already suffered too much. orla guerin, bbc news, izyum. western leaders have been unequivocal at their meeting of the united nations. here is some of what they have been saying. translation: ., .,, saying. translation: ., .,y ., ., translation: today we have to make a simple — translation: today we have to make a simple choice, _ translation: today we have to make a simple choice, basically. make a simple choice, basically war or peace. on fabry 2a this

year, russia, a member of the security council, through an act of aggression and invasion and annexation broke our collective security. —— february. it deliberately violated the un charter and principles of sovereign equality and state. it equality and state. it is imperative _ equality and state. it is imperative to _ equality and state. it is imperative to maintain| equality and state. it is i imperative to maintain the international order where the rule — international order where the rule of— international order where the rule of law is firmly established. the united nations have been playing a central role — have been playing a central role in _ have been playing a central role in the development of such an international order. however, we see today its foundations being gravely shaken. the russian aggression against — shaken. the russian aggression against ukraine is an act that tramples— against ukraine is an act that tramples on the vision and principles of the un charter. 141 countries categorically

condemn_ 141 countries categorically condemn russian- 141 countries categorically- condemn russian occupation. that— condemn russian occupation. that alone _ condemn russian occupation. that alone is _ condemn russian occupation. that alone is not _ condemn russian occupation. that alone is not enough. - condemn russian occupation. that alone is not enough. if. condemn russian occupation. that alone is not enough. if we want _ that alone is not enough. if we want the — that alone is not enough. if we want the war— that alone is not enough. if we want the war to _ that alone is not enough. if we want the war to end, _ that alone is not enough. if we want the war to end, then - that alone is not enough. if we want the war to end, then we i want the war to end, then we cannot— want the war to end, then we cannot be _ want the war to end, then we cannot be indifferent - want the war to end, then we cannot be indifferent to - want the war to end, then we cannot be indifferent to how. want the war to end, then we | cannot be indifferent to how it ends — cannot be indifferent to how it ends. vladimir— cannot be indifferent to how it ends. vladimir putin - cannot be indifferent to how it ends. vladimir putin will- cannot be indifferent to how it ends. vladimir putin will onlyl ends. vladimir putin will only give — ends. vladimir putin will only give up — ends. vladimir putin will only give up his— ends. vladimir putin will only give up his wall— ends. vladimir putin will only give up his wall and - ends. vladimir putin will onlyi give up his wall and imperious impressions— give up his wall and imperious impressions if— give up his wall and imperious impressions if he _ give up his wall and imperious impressions if he realises - give up his wall and imperious impressions if he realises he i impressions if he realises he cannot win _ impressions if he realises he cannot win "— impressions if he realises he cannot win. —— imperialist. cannot win. —— imperialist ambitions _ we'rejoined now by matthew schmidt, associate professor at the university of new haven and an expert on strategic analysis in foreign affairs. ifi if i could focus first of all on the announcement of referendums to come, they will be held quite quickly, we understand, over the course of the next week. what sort of impact do you think they we will not believe them and they are not directed at us. he is doing them to shake the narrative for his own population, to come in and say,

look, people of kherson all luhansk have decided to be part of russia. and therefore there should be a war and we need to mobilise. he's doing this as a pr stunt. given that has been some movement and some success for ukrainian forces into luhansk again. is this is why it is happening now? do you think there is anxiety within russian circles that ukrainian. moving back into these areas which have been separatist control for really quite some time? i control for really quite some time? ~ ., , time? i think that is exactly it. we have _ time? i think that is exactly it. we have known - time? i think that is exactly it. we have known for- time? i think that is exactly it. we have known for a - time? i think that is exactly j it. we have known for a few weeks that even moving people into place in order to do the political work to set up these sham referendums and putin has been holding off on doing that because it would put him in a corner and now he's basically deciding this, to execute this plan in order to justify a

fresher mobilisation in the next few days or even hours. indeed. of holding a referendum in these regions now? is it remotely possible to do it in no wayward we consider it a free this violates110% of the standards. free this violates 11096 of the standards-— free this violates 11096 of the standards. �* ., , , ., standards. again, this is a pr exercise- _ standards. again, this is a pr exercise. there _ standards. again, this is a pr exercise. there is _ standards. again, this is a pr exercise. there is no - standards. again, this is a pr exercise. there is no way - standards. again, this is a pr exercise. there is no way this is a free and fair elections quite however, when we bring it back to results being achieved and this is what it says people want to join russia, and this is what it says people want tojoin russia, as and this is what it says people want to join russia, as a bargaining chip, that has some weight, doesn't it? when you're looking at western countries in particular fighting looking at western countries in particularfighting hard looking at western countries in particular fighting hard to balance support for ukrainian financial support for ukraine and yet the hardships at home, these sorts of things may yet a key difference? they might but

i'm suspicious of those kinds of arguments because war is chaotic and things change suddenly and what you do today may not have any connection to what you are doing or negotiating in six months from now. it is possible that there are many events that could happen that could sever those types of connections at. haifa types of connections at. how damaging — types of connections at. how damaging or _ types of connections at. how damaging or otherwise - types of connections at. how damaging or otherwise would a full mobilisation by president putin be, in terms of, again, his domestic consumption? you say this move is very much for domestic consumption. would that be a very negative step for him or might it once again serve to start rallying russian support? serve to start rallying russian su ort? ~ ., , serve to start rallying russian su--ort? . ., ,., serve to start rallying russian su--ort? ~ ., , support? worries about people. he needs more _ support? worries about people. he needs more of _ support? worries about people. he needs more of them. -- - support? worries about people. | he needs more of them. -- what he needs more of them. —— what he needs is more well—trained,

motivated, junior officers —— war. mobilisation may get him a lot of people but it will not get him people who are trained and trained fast enough to be able to conduct offensive operations to engage in war and thatis operations to engage in war and that is what he needs. you operations to engage in war and that is what he needs.— that is what he needs. you have a sense what — that is what he needs. you have a sense what this _ that is what he needs. you have a sense what this timeframe - that is what he needs. you have l a sense what this timeframe may be on this conflict? it is almost impossible question. from our own new prime minister, liz truss, has intimated there will be the same amount of money going this year to ukraine to help as last year, and it is running into the billions. i year, and it is running into the billions.— year, and it is running into the billions. i think you are lookin: the billions. i think you are looking at— the billions. i think you are looking at several- the billions. i think you are looking at several more - the billions. i think you are - looking at several more months and i would even say another year, if you're looking at ukraine's capacity to train its own offices in order to engage in offensive operations to get weapons in place and this kind of thing, russian will have a vote. as bad as they have performed in the field, you have to remember they have a lot of weapons, right? and they

have a lot of people. in the end, quantity is the quality, you throw everything at it against the force and sometimes the more mass wins. and what we have seen his morale is so bad in russia they have not been able to do that without change. i suspect this goes on until another year and that reaches one year in february but beyond that, this ends on the streets of moscow, they have to take responsibility for the ruler they have put in place and has brought on this war. the war will not end until that happens. matthew schmidt from university of new haven.— to iran now, where three people have died in protests which have followed the death in custody of a woman who was arrested by the morality police. the authorities say she died of natural causes, but her family says

she was attacked by the police. bbc persian's rana rahimpour has this report. a warning: you may find some of the images distressing. women in iran set their headscarves on fire in fury. they are tired of the morality police beating them up and the islamic republic leaders who police their every move. their protest is sparked by the death of this woman. her name is mahsa amini. she wasjust 22. she was arrested by the morality police in tehran earlier this month. they said she wasn't wearing the mandatory hijab or headscarf properly. the security forces have released the cctv footage of mahsa in detention. it's heavily edited. suddenly, mahsa collapses. the authorities say she had a heart condition. but eyewitnesses say she was beaten up in the police van.

she's taken to hospital and ends up in a coma. a few days later, she's dead. women cry, "death to the dictator" and wave their headscarves at her funeral. the inscription on her gravestone reads that she is not dead, her name will become a symbol and live forever. mahsa was kurdish but protests are spreading across iran. a woman stands calmly in front of a water cannon until it has to reverse. and here, a police motorbike is set on fire. the woman filming shouts, "look, we've got nothing but we made them run away!" as mahsa's family predicted, her name has already become a symbol. a symbol of resistance. rana rahimpour, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: fortunes of war — we'll speak to the young ukrainian inventor whose work may end up saving countless lives. benjohnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all the athletes should be clean going into the games. i'm just happy that justice is served. it is a simple fact that this morning, these people . were in their homes. tonight, those homes have been burnt down by serbian _ soldiers and police. all the taliban positions along here have been strengthened, presumably in case the americans invade. it's no use having a secret service which cannot preserve its own secrets against the world, and so the british government has no option but to continue this action even after any

adverse judgement in australia. concorde have crossed the atlantic faster than any plane ever before, breaking the record by six minutes. hello again. this is bbc news. i'm david eades. the latest headlines: as the future of ukraine hangs in the balance, the un secretary general warns of a winter of discontent. further protests across iran over the death in custody of a young woman accused of breaking the islamic dress code. hurricane fiona has caused destruction across the carribbean since the weekend, slamming into puerto rico, the dominican republic and the turks and caicos islands. at least three people have been killed. the national hurricane center is warning that hurricane fiona

will strengthen to a category 4 storm in the next couple of days. wendy urqhuart reports. flash floods and super strong winds battered puerto rico on sunday — the surge of water so powerful it dislodged an entire bridge, sending it floating down the river. on monday, the devastation was clear, fields were completely destroyed, boats and debris washed ashore. on tuesday, more than 3.3 million puerto rican residents still had no power and very little water. presidentjoe biden has declared a state of emergency on the island. the category one hurricane gathered strength before making landfall in the dominican republic. it swept across the island, packing winds of up to 184km/hr, ripping up crops and tearing the roofs off

buildings. several rivers burst, their banks in the streets are littered with fallen trees and debris. translation: our house was hit and everything was damaged. - today we set all of our things outside to dry but what we need is water. translation: it's a disaster, we lost everything and - everything got wet. we lost our home. lam ruined. volunteers are already packing food bags which will be shipped to the worst—affected areas. at least seven have been declared disaster zones. fiona has left a trail of destruction in its wake and is now heading for barbados and bermuda. residents are strongly advised to put away patio furniture, trim tree branches, and prepare emergency kits with 72 hours' worth of essentials in case the electricity supply goes down. the national hurricane center is warning that hurricane fiona will gather even more strength

in the next couple of days to become a category four storm. and this storm surge could raise water levels by more than two metres. wendy urquhart, bbc news. rescue teams injapan are warning of the danger of mudslides, following continued heavy rain brought by typhoon nanmadol. at least four people have been killed by what has been described as one of the most powerful storms to hit japan for several decades. hundreds of thousands of homes are without power, and forecasters say some areas can expect up to 30 centimetres of rain in a single day. climate change has all sorts of consequences. in the arctic north, glaciers are melting at an alarming speed. in parts of the southern hemisphere there's drought, with red—hot temperatures and a desperate lack of rain. and in the middle east, one of the world's great rivers is all but disappearing, as the bbc�*s tim allman explains.

if biblical legend is correct, adam and eve may have drunk from these waters. they helped give birth to civilisation itself. but now, the river tigris is dying. farms on the bank, relying on the water it brings. the water is slowly, surely, disappearing. translation: surely, disappearing. tuna/mom- surely, disappearing. translation: , , translation: our life depends on the tigris- — translation: our life depends on the tigris. if _ translation: our life depends on the tigris. if the _ translation: our life depends on the tigris. if the water - on the tigris. if the water level drops, are culture and region will be damaged. if iraq doesn't find a solution, there will be no water left and no agriculture.— will be no water left and no auriculture. �* ., , , . agriculture. along this stretch of river there _ agriculture. along this stretch of river there were _ agriculture. along this stretch of river there were once - of river there were once orchards, fields of wheat, livestock. most of it is gone now. man is to blame one way or another. translation: the audio

-- water level _ another. translation: the audio -- water level has _ another. translation: the audio -- water level has dropped - another. translation: the audio -- water level has dropped due i —— water level has dropped due to jams installed by neighbouring countries. secondly, the effects of climate change including high temperatures which exceed 50 celsius and low rainfall. for generations, _ celsius and low rainfall. for generations, her _ celsius and low rainfall. for generations, herfamily celsius and low rainfall. for generations, her family has tended generations, herfamily has tended to the palm trees. they provided dates, molasses and hannah but life is a lot different these days. translation: different these days. tuna/mom- different these days. translation: , ., translation: the tigris and eunhrates — translation: the tigris and euphrates are _ translation: the tigris and euphrates are gone, - translation: the tigris and euphrates are gone, their - translation: the tigris and l euphrates are gone, their water doesn't reach here. my mind can't fathom how it went from good to poverty. water is the basis of everything and now the tigris and euphrates have no water. ., ,. , , water. some have described this as the twilight _ water. some have described this as the twilight of _ water. some have described this as the twilight of the _ water. some have described this as the twilight of the tigris. - as the twilight of the tigris. if there ever disappears, how can the communities it once supported hope to survive? tim allman, bbc news. there are an estimated

100 million unexploded landmines planted across our planet, providing a constant risk to many millions of people. now, a new technique for detecting those landmines has been recognised with a major prize, and it's gone to a 17—year—old ukrainian student. earlier i spoke to igor klymenko and asked him what is revolutionary about the quadcopter mines detector he has developed. nowadays we help create two devices, three prototypes which detect landmines and provide exact co—ordinates of the objects. we are working to improve it so we will make a bigger ones. it can be providing not only the exact co—ordinates but using artificial intelligence to know the exact type of landmine and the exact type of landmine and the wave it's a safe removal. we want to spray paint the point where is the landmine.

how far away are you from bringing this into operation from it becoming a mass produced detection device? nowadays i'm working on getting a product to begin certification in ukraine and then mass production. i spoke with the factory providing military equipment for ukrainian militaries and they told me that if they can help me make it mass production provide it as fast as we can. it could take a year to two years. it could take a year to two ears. �* , . it could take a year to two ears. �*, ., ., ., years. it's an amazing achievement - years. it's an amazing achievement and - years. it's an amazing . achievement and medical regulations for it. us studying at the kyiv polytechnic institute. how difficult it has that been are you still studying back?- that been are you still studying back? this yeari finished 11th _ studying back? this yeari finished 11th grade - studying back? this yeari finished 11th grade at - studying back? this yeari finished 11th grade at the | finished 11th grade at the institute and nowadays and getting two degrees, a full—time degree in canada and

i am studying their full time and studying part—time online. igor klymenko, how impressive and successful. goodbye for now. hello. whist weather conditions have been fairly quiet for us, across the other side of the atlantic we have seen a hurricane has battered parts of puerto rico, the dominican republic and turks and caicos, a first major hurricane with winds gusting over 130 mph. getting close to bermuda, thursday, friday, but could maintain the hurricane status as it slams into the east of canada, aided and abetted by unusually warm sea waters in the north atlantic. instead of spinning towards us, it could head to the arctic, seeing some very warm air there as well. to our shores, rather cool conditions. milder with south—westerly winds developing ahead of the weather front. it means it's going to take

a few days before the warm air gets in because it will be a chilly start to wednesday, six degrees across the south—eastern areas, mist and fog. mildest towards the north and west but here the breeze, cloud and outbreaks of rain. western isles, rain all day long. orkney, shetland, some outbreaks of rain developing as we will see in caithness. to the west of northern ireland it will turn damp late in the day. isolated showers for southern scotland, northern england. most of the uk having a dry day. mist and fog in the south clearing, some cloud through eastern england, sunny spells elsewhere into the afternoon, the best of which are around the coasts, feeling warmer than recent days. temperatures up a degree or so. winds lightest to the south and east on wednesday afternoon. strongest towards the north and west. across the western isles, we could see gale force winds before the day is out. the winds strengthen across the rest of scotland and northern ireland as we go into wednesday night. wednesday night into thursday, outbreaks of rain developing widely. a little bit of a rain shadow so not much rain towards the north—east of scotland. some rain into cumbria and the isle of man. around that rain band, a pretty mild night, 12—14 degrees, fresher further south. the odd mist and fog patch

but a dry and bright start for most on thursday for england and wales. turning cloudy with outbreaks of rain, north—west england, north and west wales through the day. that moving to the south—east of northern ireland and staying that way in the south and east of scotland. but north—western parts of scotland, the rest of northern ireland should brighten up, feeling fresher later on. to the south—east of the rain band, which will be in to west wales by the end of thursday, it's going to be another reasonably mild if not warm day of 21—22 degrees. milder air squeezed gets out as the weather front meanders slowly and erratically to the south—east corridor heading into friday, it could bring rain to cardiff and london, showing up on the capital city forecast. but by the weekend, fresherfor all again, many places will be dry.

this is bbc news. the headlines: western leaders are warning president putin not to annex parts of ukraine as officials in russian—held areas of the country said they would be holding referendums on becoming part of russia. a chorus of leaders at the un general assembly said such ballots would be a sham. in iran, three people have died in protests which have followed the death in custody of a woman who was arrested by the morality police. the authorities say 22—year—old mahsa amini died of natural causes but her family says she was attacked by the police. hurricane fiona is continuing to lash parts of the turks and caicos islands in the caribbean with strong

winds and heavy rain.