hello, i'm maryam moshiri, this is outside source. russia's war in ukraine is taking centre stage at the un security council in new york. the us leads the criticism. the very international order that we have gathered here to uphold is being shredded before our eyes. we cannot, we will not allow president putin to get away with it. a completely different narrative about _ a completely different narrative about russian aggression as the origin— about russian aggression as the origin of— about russian aggression as the origin of all the tragedy. large numbers of russians have been leaving their country by car —

as president putin begins drafting new troops in the fight in ukraine. some flights out of russia have sold out. also in the programme... the bank of england raises interest rates to their highest level for m years — it warns the uk may already been in recession. and a fracking ban in england is lifted in a bid to increase energy production — but critics say the move could harm the environment and trigger earthquakes. the us secretary of state has said russia's president, vladimir putin, can't get away with "shredding" international order over his invasion of ukraine. he was speaking at a special meeting of the united nations security council. here's what else he had to say. even the number of nations that maintain close ties with moscow have said publicly that they have serious questions and concerns about president putin's ongoing invasion.

rather than change course, however, president putin has doubled down, choosing not to end the war but to expand it. that expansion he was referring to relates to president putin's announcement on wednesday that he was calling up 300,000 reservists to fight in ukraine — the first time extra forces have been mobilised. this has now begun. ukraine and its allies say the move is a sign of president vladimir putin's desperation in the face of a recent counter—offensive by the ukrainians. the kremlin says those with military experience will be prioritised and students will be exempt but has offered no other details so far. and that has people spooked. flights for the coming days from russia to nearby countries including armenia, turkey, azerbaijan and serbia have sold out entirely. early on thursday morning, people arrived from moscow at belgrade airport in serbia. it's one of the few cities that still has direct flights from russia

but tickets are now sold out. this video shows large queues at the russian—georgian border. lengthy tailbacks have also been reported at russia's borders with kazakhstan and mongolia. the bbc�*s reyhan demetrie is on the russian—georgian border and sent this report. there is a small trickle of cars that are entering georgia. and that is extraordinary, given what is happening on the other side. there is a telegram channel which was created specifically dedicated to these border crossings, with tens of thousands of subscribers, and they have been posting videos that are showing long queues on the other side. people we've spoken to, many of them are young men, are saying that they decided to leave russia following vladimir putin's call for partial mobilisation. many of them look tired, they said they had to wait for up to 11 hours to cross the border. they said there was no

time for them to pack, they just grabbed theyjust grabbed their passports and left the country. they feel relieved to be here, in safety. some countries bordering or near russia have already said they won't help those fleeing mobilisation. european union members latvia, lithuania, estonia and the czech republic have said they won't offer refuge. finland is considering ways to sharply reduce russian tourism and transit. here's the head of international affairs at the finnish border guard talking about the increase in traffic from moscow they've seen so far. normally, on wednesdays, we at the moment have around 2,100 russians entering finland, but yesterday it was 4,800. so a slight increase but on the level of normal weekends. nothing that we cannot cope, but there's a clear change

in the border traffic. 0ne russian man arriving at istanbul airport on thursday said he had left partly over the kremlin�*s decision. sure, i'm concerned. i didn't believe that the next step would be a mobilisation and i feel that not really many lots of russian people want to fight and want to be mobilised and want to go to there. a kremlin spokesperson said that reports of a mass exodus from russia due to the mobilisation are "exaggerated". "there is a lot of fake information about this," said dmirty peskov. "we need to be very careful about this so as not to become a victim of false information on this matter." this footage is said to show reservists boarding a bus and one independent russian news website said there were queues at military offices across the country — so there are definitely those who are willing to fight. according to one russian news agency, some 10,000 people volunteered to fight on the first

day of mobilisation. this is what one man had to say on the streets of yekaterinburg — one of russia's biggest cities. translation: i am a patriot and i love my country. - if the country needs me, i'll go and fight. others, however, appear not so willing. these pictures from serbia, which the bbc has been unable to independently verify, appear to show distraught families saying goodbye to each other as russians prepare to leave. meanwhile, the announcement — made earlier this week — that parts of ukraine currently controlled by russian—backed governments will hold votes on whether to become part of russia — is also a key topic of discussion at the meeting of the un security council. the referenda are due to be held from friday in luhansk, donetsk, kherson and zaporizhzhia and are expected to be a foregone conclusion in russia's favour. former russian president dmitry medvedev and now the deputy chairman of russia's security council, has said that moscow could use nuclear weapons to defend annexed ukrainian land. he said:

"the donbas republics and other territories will be accepted into russia." russia has announced that not only mobilisation capabilities, but also any russian weapons... ..including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons based on new principles, could be used for such protection." so will the results of the referenda hold any weight internationally? the bbc�*s laura trevelyan has been speaking to white house national security spokesman, john kirby. we believe that these will be sham referenda. they won't be legitimate. they certainly won't be free or fair. they're designed, preordained to allow mr putin to say, "look, this is russian territory and now ukrainian attacks are on the motherland, not on ukrainian territory," which is of course not true. with me is vitality shevechenko. first of all, let's talk about these referenda. are they as much of a foregone conclusion as everyone says they will be? i foregone conclusion as everyone says they will be?— they will be? i think so because that is how _ they will be? i think so because that is how the _ they will be? i think so because that is how the system - they will be? i think so because that is how the system works, i they will be? i think so because i that is how the system works, that is how they worked eight years ago

when russia annexed crimea. it would be a bit of a stretch to call it a referendum, and sure enough it proved a petition to join russia and president putin could not say no to that. that is what is going to happen this time again. it was called at such short notice, it is being held at a time of war, there is no infrastructure, no independent observers, so all these things point to the fact that it is probably going to be a foregone conclusion. ukrainian allies have already said they will not recognise any kind of vote, but what are the consequences of that continued support of ukraine? , , ., , ukraine? this is part of president putin's calculus, _ ukraine? this is part of president putin's calculus, really, - ukraine? this is part of president putin's calculus, really, that's - ukraine? this is part of president| putin's calculus, really, that's the west, that ukraine will stop resisting and give up. and that is why we have been seeing increasingly alarming statements coming from moscow about the possibility of

russia using nuclear weapons. president putin hinted at it yesterday, but his deputy at the security council said it explicitly. these parts of ukraine will become part of russia and we are going to depend them with all sorts of weapons, including nuclear weapons. when they say that, do they mean it? it is difficult to peer into the minds of those people, but definitely it is alarming. and it doesn't really reveal any confidence in the part of the people who say it. it is probably a real sign of desperation, because these threats come after russia, the number of setbacks suffered by russia in the kharkiv region, coupled with the mobilisation announced by president putin, i don't think it shows that what is happening now is part of a plan. back in march, president putin

explicitly ruled out the possibility of a mobilisation. he said they have got enough people to fight in ukraine. that is changed. it doesn't seem they have enough people to fight in ukraine.— seem they have enough people to fight in ukraine. these flights that we are seeing. _ fight in ukraine. these flights that we are seeing, these _ fight in ukraine. these flights that we are seeing, these queues - fight in ukraine. these flights that we are seeing, these queues to i fight in ukraine. these flights that l we are seeing, these queues to get out of russia, it is not easy to verify what is going on, but it does look like some people are worried. they are worried because what is happening now, this call up, it means the end of a very long social contract in russia for more than 20 years, when president putin has been in charge. the contract was that it is contract soldiers who are paid to do the fighting, they will fight on the kremlin�*s behalf, ordinary citizens are free to go about their daily lives. that is changed, they are going to be conscripted, against their will possibly.— their will possibly. thank you for “oininu us their will possibly. thank you for joining us once _ their will possibly. thank you for

joining us once again. _ vladimir putin's threat of using nuclear weapons has also meeting in new york. here's the un secretary—general. translation: as i have said from the start, - this senseless war has unlimited potential to do terrible harm. in ukraine and around the world. the idea of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, has become a subject of debate. the issue of alleged russian war crimes also came up. the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court has said he will prioritise the targeting of civilian buildings and the forced transfer of ukrainians, including children, to russia. sergei lavrov, russia's foreign minister, has complained that council members were trying to impose a false narrative on moscow's operations in ukraine. killed and continue to kill the

inhabitants of the donbas with impunity, simply because they refuse to recognise the coup d'etat in kyiv. the right to freely use russian, there mother tongue. the uk's new foreign secretary, who has today announced — along with ukraine and poland — unwavering support for ukraine and plans to develop their defence capabilities — spoke soon after mr lavrov. today i have listened to further instalments of russia's catalogues of distortions, dishonesty and disinformation. he has left the chamber. i'm not surprised. i don't think mr lavrov wants to hear the collective condemnation of this council. ukraine's minister for foreign affairs has also been speaking. excellencies, many of you may listen to me right now with one question in mind,

is there a chance for peace? will ukraine negotiate with russia in order to end this war? i went to state crystal clear, no other nation in the world craves for peace more than ukraine. our us state department correspondent barbara plett usher joins me new york — barbara, give us the highlights on what has been a difficult day for the security council. the council met a really under the the council meta really under the banner— the council meta really under the banner of— the council met a really under the banner of accountability, many of the members are called for russia to be the members are called for russia to he held _ the members are called for russia to he held to _ the members are called for russia to be held to account for the invasion, which _ be held to account for the invasion, which the _ be held to account for the invasion, which the secretary of state antony biinken _ which the secretary of state antony blinken said had shredded the international order that they were there _ international order that they were there to _ international order that they were there to uphold, and also for alleged — there to uphold, and also for alleged atrocities and crimes committed by russia. and the united nations— committed by russia. and the united nations had already voted for the international criminal court to begin— international criminal court to begin an — international criminal court to begin an investigation, it will start— begin an investigation, it will start in— begin an investigation, it will start in march. you had comments from _ start in march. you had comments from the _ start in march. you had comments from the prosecutor who said that he was going _ from the prosecutor who said that he was going to send more investigators

next week_ was going to send more investigators next week to look into allegations of further— next week to look into allegations of further atrocities committed in the east — of further atrocities committed in the east of the country. he made a reference _ the east of the country. he made a reference to — the east of the country. he made a reference to nuremberg in the sense of this— reference to nuremberg in the sense of this was_ reference to nuremberg in the sense of this was a very serious situation, _ of this was a very serious situation, and he has said in the past _ situation, and he has said in the past that— situation, and he has said in the past that there is reasonable grounds _ past that there is reasonable grounds to believe that crimes have been committed. that was the practical— been committed. that was the practical arm of the theme of the nreetind — practical arm of the theme of the meeting. but nobody expected there to be any— meeting. but nobody expected there to be any sort of resolution or outcome, _ to be any sort of resolution or outcome, because russia is a permanent member of the security councit— permanent member of the security council and could veto it. i think the idea — council and could veto it. i think the idea was to draw attention to what _ the idea was to draw attention to what was — the idea was to draw attention to what was going on in ukraine, and especially— what was going on in ukraine, and especially for the us and uk and other— especially for the us and uk and other western allies to press everyone _ other western allies to press everyone to speak out more forcefully against russia's actions. there _ forcefully against russia's actions. there is— forcefully against russia's actions. there is who have been more reticent about— there is who have been more reticent about being _ there is who have been more reticent about being as critical as some of the other— about being as critical as some of the other states. and about being as critical as some of the other states.— about being as critical as some of the other states. and the ukrainian representative _ the other states. and the ukrainian representative also _ the other states. and the ukrainian representative also talking - the other states. and the ukrainian representative also talking and - representative also talking and bringing into focus the knock—on impact that the ukraine war is having on energy and on food prices

globally. having on energy and on food prices aloball . , ., ., ., , ., globally. yes, and that was a theme from others — globally. yes, and that was a theme from others as _ globally. yes, and that was a theme from others as well. _ globally. yes, and that was a theme from others as well. the _ globally. yes, and that was a theme from others as well. the concern . globally. yes, and that was a theme from others as well. the concern of| from others as well. the concern of course _ from others as well. the concern of course amongst un member states, there _ course amongst un member states, there is— course amongst un member states, there is at— course amongst un member states, there is at the security council, is about— there is at the security council, is about the — there is at the security council, is about the war, the atrocities, it is seen _ about the war, the atrocities, it is seen as— about the war, the atrocities, it is seen as a — about the war, the atrocities, it is seen as a violation of the charter quite _ seen as a violation of the charter quite broadly. there is a concern that citizens are being harmed, if not targeted. but there is a broader impact _ not targeted. but there is a broader impact from the war which is in the hi-h impact from the war which is in the high prices, — impact from the war which is in the high prices, shortages of food, and countries _ high prices, shortages of food, and countries in — high prices, shortages of food, and countries in asia and the middle east and — countries in asia and the middle east and africa have been affected by the _ east and africa have been affected by the most. they are the ones that have been— by the most. they are the ones that have been released publicly critical about— have been released publicly critical about russia. i think they wanted to stay out _ about russia. i think they wanted to stay out of— about russia. i think they wanted to stay out of the political fray. they haven't _ stay out of the political fray. they haven't joined stay out of the political fray. they haven'tjoined in strong stay out of the political fray. they haven't joined in strong force these sanctions _ haven't joined in strong force these sanctions that the west has imposed. but the _ sanctions that the west has imposed. but the ukrainian official was saying — but the ukrainian official was saying is— but the ukrainian official was saying is that you can't really be neutral— saying is that you can't really be neutral because we are being attacked _ neutral because we are being attacked by missiles but the russians are using energy and food as weapons in their attacking you with that — as weapons in their attacking you with that. whether or not that is the view— with that. whether or not that is the view from the so—called global

south, _ the view from the so—called global south, i_ the view from the so—called global south, i think what the planners of the meeting and secretary blink and were hoping, that this session will encourage — were hoping, that this session will encourage different countries to speak— encourage different countries to speak out more broadly to the russians, _ speak out more broadly to the russians, saying the war is hurting them _ russians, saying the war is hurting them and — russians, saying the war is hurting them and that the war should be stopped — them and that the war should be sto ed. . ~ them and that the war should be sto ed. ., ,, i. nearly 1,400 people are thought to have been arrested in protests against mobilisation in dozens of russian cities. the largest numbers arrested were in st petersburg and moscow. the kremlin has not denied media reports that some protesters were given draft papers and there are some reports that journalists are also being targeted. those who are demonstrating are taking a huge risk — the moscow prosecutor's office has warned people who participate face up to 15 years in jail. the bbc�*s will vernon has been speaking to one man who has been protesting for months. translation: i understand i am not the only one against the war, - but we are silent and we are afraid.

his sign says "no to war" in russian, but he's actually replaced the first two letters in the word "war" with asterix, and that's because there's new legislation here in russia that actually makes it illegal to call this war a war or an invasion. doing so could land you in prison. he has gone out to protest in the town here every day since the war began. he says he wants others to join him. translation: this is what we need i to work on, overcoming the fear, l the fear is very high. since february, he has been arrested and beaten up. while we were filming, this happened. here in the uk, interest rates have been raised by 0.5% to their highest level for 1h years.

the governor of the bank of england warned that the uk economy may already be in recession. it follows the announcement yesterday by the us federal reserve that rates there were rising by 0.75%. our economics editor faisal islam has the details. so the bank of england today have once again put up rates, another half a percentage point to 2.25%. it's back up to levels not seen since 2008, affecting the price of loans across the economy. it is now a decisive break with an era of extremely low rates that had lasted since the financial crisis and was prolonged by the pandemic. the bank wants to put a lid on rising prices by slowing the economy with these rate rises, but inflation is still set to remain above 10% for some months and rates nearly went up by even more today.

and that's the challenge — the bank now believes that we're already in a recession that began in april, and yet, it is increasing the cost of borrowing in a way that could make that recession worse. why? because inflation is superhigh and even with the tempering of the gas and energy prices by the government, that could remain so. so the question is how high will rates go? certainly to 3%, but 4 or even 5% are not out of the question. the bank of england probably started too late in raising interest rates. they left the first rise until december and were quite slow, and have been quite slow, in raising them since then. so, we're not actually getting much downward pressure on inflation at the moment from interest rate changes. on the screens of this broker at st albans, the impact of all of this already hitting the mortgage markets. rates are changing on a daily basis. lenders are pulling products on a daily basis.

if you give a rate today, you don't know if it will be gone tomorrow. and when the mortgage market is affected, then so is the housing markets. which is inevitable when rates go up like this. faisal islam, bbc news. the uk government has announced its lifting a ban on fracking that has been in place since 2019. it's part of a broader package of measures to tackle energy prices. here's the uk's energy secretary. it is more environmentally friendly to use our own sources of fuel rather than to extract them from other countries and transport them here at great cost, both financially and in terms of carbon. it is something, therefore, that we need to revisit and we need to revisit the seismic limits to ensure that shale gas extraction can be done in an effective and efficient way. how does fracking really work?

our former science editor, david shukman, explains. part of the operation involves drilling straight down and then turning the drill horizontally to run for miles underground. the ability to do this is improving all the time. the aim is to reach the tiny fisures in the shale rock down there. these are minute, some are less than a millimetre across. that's where molecules of gas are locked away, trapped inside. now, what's called slick water is then pumped in at high pressure, this forces the cracks in the rock to widen. tiny grains known as promptings, a bit like sand, are carried in by the water, they called

the fissures open, the technology of this keeps advancing. the results, well, with the rock broken up, the gases released and flushed all the way back up here to the surface. lifting the ban means applications for new shale gas drilling can now be made by exploration and production companies. fracking in the uk has been a controversial subject because of its association with minor earthquakes. the ban was put in place in 2019 after oil and gas exploration company cuadrilla's fracking site in lancashire, recorded more than 120 tremors — although most were too small to be felt. the shadow energy secretary's responded to mr rees mogg's announcement. the 2019 manifesto on which he and every member of the party opposite stood said this, mr speaker, "we will not support fracking unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely." they are lifting the ban, but they can't supply the evidence. it comes as the british geological survey published a new scientific review into fracking. the bgs has concluded there is still a limited understanding of the impacts of drilling gas and oilfrom shale rock. the review says hf — that's hydraulic fracturing, another term for fracking — can trigger earthquakes large enough to cause structural damage. these events were not predicted in advance of operations.

speaking to lawmakers, the energy secretary if dismissed those concerns. it isa it is a safe, it is shown to be safe, the scare stories have been disproved time and again. the h steria disproved time and again. the hysteria about _ disproved time and again. tie: hysteria about seismic disproved time and again. he hysteria about seismic activity fails to understand the richter scale is a logarithmic scale, it seems to think it is a straight scale, which it is not. and bringing on this supply will bring us cheaper energy, which we need. here's our international buisiness correspondent, theo legget. what the government seems to be doing _ what the government seems to be doing here — what the government seems to be doing here is keeping in mind what the report— doing here is keeping in mind what the report says, which is while there — the report says, which is while there is— the report says, which is while there is a _ the report says, which is while there is a case for having what they call a _ there is a case for having what they call a traffic— there is a case for having what they call a traffic light system for regulating how drilling proceeds,

pauses— regulating how drilling proceeds, pauses if— regulating how drilling proceeds, pauses if things go wrong, that it is worth— pauses if things go wrong, that it is worth considering at what point you pause — is worth considering at what point you pause operations depending on the tremor— you pause operations depending on the tremor is involved. because a 0.5 magnitude is very low. a cuadritta _ 0.5 magnitude is very low. a cuadrilla well did provoke a small earthquake of magnitude 2.9, which is considerably greater. i think what _ is considerably greater. i think what the — is considerably greater. i think what the government is trying to do here is— what the government is trying to do here is make sure that drilling can proceed _ here is make sure that drilling can proceed and some of the exploration can proceed without having to stop whenever— can proceed without having to stop whenever there is a very small tremor~ — whenever there is a very small tremor~ it— whenever there is a very small tremor. it is a balance of risk. many british mps expressed their opposition to the announcement. there can be no doubt that this political earthquake is absolutely bonkers. the uk faces two problems when it comes to energy, energy prices and energy security. let's be clear, when it comes to energy prices, producing shale gas will make absolutely no difference whatsoever. that opinion is supported

by chris cornelius, the exploration geologist who founded cuadrilla resources. in a guardian opinion piece titled "liz truss, we support fracking too — that's why we know it can't work for britain", mr cornelius said... mr cornelius is no longer involved with cuadrilla. the company itself has welcomed the decision. it told the bbc that the first gas could be flowing in six months, although that would depend on local planning approvals.

that's it for this half of outside source. plenty more to come in a few minutes on the bbc. hello. it's been a bit grey and rainy for some of us today. i think the chances are it'll be a little bit better tomorrow. but here's the headline — in the next few days, it is going to turn colder — significantly, infact, particularly across northern parts of the uk. cold enough for thick coats, as temperatures may struggle to reach ten degrees. now, right now a cold front is crossing the uk. this is the first of two which will be crossing the uk over the next few days. now, this one has brought the wet weather to northern parts of the country through thursday. and actually, as we go through the course of this evening and into tomorrow, this cold front will reach southern parts of the uk, where it will actually stall for a while. so here it is through

the course of this evening, rain in parts of wales, the midlands, southeastern and southern england. but the rain won't be quite as persistent, whereas elsewhere, further north, the skies are going to clear. not too cold in the south — 1a degrees, a little bit fresher there in glasgow and edinburgh, around seven celsius or so. so here's the forecast for tomorrow — we wake up to plenty of sunshine across many parts of the country, but the south may, at times, be cloudy through the afternoon, and we could have some outbreaks of rain as well. still some of that warmth left in the south, 20 celsius in cardiff, 18 celsius in norwich and hull, but in aberdeen and also in the lowlands as well as belfast, around 15 celsius. that was friday, let's have a look at saturday. look at the wind direction — it's coming in from the north. it's also pushing in a few showers along the north sea, so it could feel quite chilly here. 13 celsius, maybe, only in newcastle. temperatures still in the mid or high teens across the south of the uk. all in all, not a bad saturday, i think, for most of us. and then sunday and into monday, this is the second cold front that will be moving across the uk.

remember, i mentioned there are two — and in fact, this cold front is going to bring the colder air, and it really will be quite breezy, quite gusty as well for some of us. in fact, if you look at the air mass graphic or the temperature of the atmosphere, you can see some blue colours here, that stream of colder air from the northern climes. so monday, tuesday and probably wednesday will be the coldest next week. in some places, temperatures will be around 12 or 13 celsius, only 1a celsius in london. but there are indications that towards the end of next week, it could turn a little bit milder again. bye— bye.

hello, i'm maryam moshiri, this is outside source. russia's war in ukraine is taking centre stage at the un security council in new york. the us leads the criticism. the very international order that we have gathered here to uphold is being shredded before our eyes. we cannot, we will not allow president putin to get away with it. translation: there's an attemptl today to impose on us a completely different narrative about russian aggression as the origin of the tragedy. large numbers of russians have been leaving their country by car, as president putin begins draughting new troops in the fight in ukraine. some flights out of russia have sold out.

in iran — the authorities have blocked the internet as anti—government protests spread to 80 cities — 17 people have died in unrest. and the british nationals held by russian forces in ukraine return home to the uk. we just want to let everybody know that we _ we just want to let everybody know that we are out of the danger zone and on our— that we are out of the danger zone and on our way home to our families. russia's conduct in ukraine has been strongly condemned at a special meeting of the un security council. the us secretary of state, antony blinken said president putin had shown contempt for international law and the world must not let him get away with it. his comments came as the ukrainian military continues to make gains in the east of the country. our chief international corrspondent orla guerin reports now from the newly liberated city of kupyansk.

this is kupiansk, a shattered city. ukraine calls it liberated territory. during our visit, it doesn't sound that way. shelling every few minutes, more shelling. and it's soon very clear that war isn't far away. exlposion come on, come on, come on! well, we've just had to run and take cover in the building. there has been what sounded like heavy incoming fire. it's pretty clear that the russians are continuing to target kupiansk, even though they've been pushed out. dangerous. understood, understood — they want us away from the blast, yeah. a few minutes ago we heard

the russian helicopters doing some shelling, and it was nearby us so we need to go to save your life, and go from there, this city. is this happening a lot in kupiansk, a lot of attacks? yes, yes. every day kupiansk is under russian shellings and russian artillery. quickly, quickly. there is little sign of life now but this is a big loss for the russians. some here don't criticise their former occupiers. "they treated people normally," oleksander tells me. "there was no torture, nothing like that. "for us it was no different with them or without them. "they were here but it feels like they weren't. "they came and then they left."

others may have a different view. either way, the shelling doesn't discriminate. i asked liliya how she copes. "i do nothing", she says. "i stay home and pray that nothing hits the house". ukraine's victory here is messy and incomplete, and some believe the russians will be back. orla guerin, bbc news, kupiansk. anti—government protests in iran have spread to 80 cities and towns — triggered by the death of a young woman after she was arrested by the morality police. demonstrations are now in their eighth day. this is amol in northern iran. the governor's office is up in flames. there are reports of police stations

and other government buildings being overrun or set on fire. this is quchan. fires are also burning. overnight, scores of protesters were reportedly arrested across iran, as security forces went door—to—door at homes and shops where they had taken refuge. and this is the capital, tehran. protesters are chanting "death to the ayatollah". we're told riot police — assisted by security forces wearing plain clothes — attacked protesters in several areas. one resident said her neighbourhood resembled a battlefield. according to iraninian state tv — 17 people have died and three security personnel in the past eight days. it's difficult to verify that figure — or get a full picture of what's going on as the authorities have blocked internet access. the bbc persian's taraneh stone though, has this assessment on what she's hearing. we know that the actual toll might be a lot higher than this.

unconfirmed sources said at least 31, but at this point, we cannot verify, as well as mass arrests, we have heard that many people have been arrested. we don't yet have a number. we know that some demonstrations are taking place as we speak in multiple cities in iran. again, because of internet restrictions, it's really hard to know where and when, but we have received a few videos. yesterday, at this time, we were overwhelmed by videos that we've received. now we hearfrom people who are trying to reach us and trying to bypass the internet blocks. we hear that there has been demonstrations. the unrest was triggered by the death of 22—year—old mahsa amini. she died on friday — three days after she was arrested for allegedly violating the strict female dress code. this is cctv footage of her arrest. there are reports officers beat ms amini's head with a baton

and banged her head against one of their vehicles. the police deny this. this is security footage of mahsa amini in detention that same day. it was released by the authorities and said to be heavily edited. in it, she collapses. she later died in hospital. the authorities blame "sudden heart failure". herfather amjad amini has called their assertion a lie. he's given an interview with the bbc. translation: i asked them to show me the footage from the police _ officers body cameras. they told me the cameras were out of charge. i asked them why you didn't transfer her to the hospital earlier when she collapsed at the police station? they said the ambulance's key was lost for 20 minutes and they couldn't find it. can you believe this? i still cannot believe she is dead. i don't want to believe she is not alive. i cannot. they have not sent anyone with herfrom the police station to the hospital. nobody knew who she was in the hospital.

i'm glad my son followed her to the hospital, otherwise we would've lost her. the authorities made up a lot of lies. iranian state media are saying she had health conditions before, but that's a lie. the medical report was full of lies. the doctor told me they would report whatever they liked. i went to the medical office a couple of times, they didn't let me in. the deadliest unrest has been concentrated in iran's kurdish—populated north—west, where mahsa amini lived. and funerals are under way. this service was for a woman allegedly killed during a rally in kermanshah. next, lets hear the assessment of an iranian women's rights activist in washington on what she's hearing. people who are demonstrating are extremely brave because they are facing a lot of violence. we've already had reports of many killed, you know, the count of course is not, it's not certain yet but we have

reports of people who are killed, especially high violence in the kurdish areas where the protests are much more serious and they have been much more consistent because that is also where mahsa was from. the demands from the protesters initially was accountability on the death of mahsa, the elimination of mandatory hijab lies and that violent enforcement of those laws. if they achieve that, that would be great. of course, now that they are protesting some of the demands are even more than that. but there is an incredible level of violence that they have been met with, and you know, people are getting arrested, human rights defenders, civil society activists are getting arrested. scores of them have been arrested, especially in kurdistan, we've had at least over eight human rights defenders, women human rights defenders have been arrested. so it becomes very difficult to organise under the circumstances, given how repressive the civil society state is. well, wednesday would have been mahsa amini's 23rd birthday. let's hearfrom herfather again. translation: my daughter was i so innocent, she was very innocent.

she was very honest. she was very modern, she was an angel. i miss her. we all miss her. it was her 23rd birthday yesterday. she wanted to start university next week. she wanted to study microbiology. that was her dream which never came true. her mother is so sick. i also want to thank people for showing their solidarity. internet—monitoring group netblocks is reporting that mobile phone networks are largely shut down and internet services disrupted. it's drawing parallels to 2019 when the authorities shut off the internet during mass anti—government rallies. alp toker is the director of netblocks. hejoins me now. thank you so much. just explain to me, first of all, iran is clearly the subject of a very severe internet outage. why does it serve the government to do this now? the

does it serve the government to do this now? , , ., this now? the internet disruption serves the _ this now? the internet disruption serves the government _ this now? the internet disruption serves the government in - this now? the internet disruption serves the government in a - this now? the internet disruption serves the government in a few. this now? the internet disruption - serves the government in a few ways. most of all, this is about trying to silence these protesting keeping people in duress. particularly we see this through the restriction of mobile networks and also unavailable to social media platforms that have been previously available. this is a direct response to the protests. sometimes even regionally as the protests arise.— protests arise. how did these restrictions _ protests arise. how did these restrictions that _ protests arise. how did these restrictions that we _ protests arise. how did these restrictions that we see - protests arise. how did these restrictions that we see now. protests arise. how did these - restrictions that we see now differ from the ones we saw in 2019? in november 2019, we track a very from the ones we saw in 2019? t�*t november 2019, we track a very rapid escalation of the internet disruptions, at first in regions where the protests started, but within 2a hours, these manifested in a nation scale internet blackout which lasted over a week. in some regions, lasted multiple weeks. now, this time we have seen a different strategy to plate. this is targeted particularly those mobile networks that people use and they are out and about that protests, but also the

main means to which people communicate, but also platforms like instagram and whatsapp, which of the last remaining international platforms. this prevents people communicate them both internally but then and also at the outside world. are there ways around this? can people use are ten ways to get around these blockages? for those users who are _ around these blockages? for those users who are perhaps _ around these blockages? for those users who are perhaps at _ around these blockages? for those users who are perhaps at home - around these blockages? for those | users who are perhaps at home and who have some internet connectivity, it is possible to circumvent these kinds of restrictions. there are two options, to use a vpn, a virtual private network, which can circumvent government censorship, but this isn't always available. the iranian authorities also restrict access to vpn. another option is the to a network, which can create connections to the services when they are restricted. however, when there is a total internet blackout, there is a total internet blackout,

there are few options and people are cut off. they cannot document human rights, it is a complete silencing of the population. it rights, it is a complete silencing of the population.— rights, it is a complete silencing of the population. if you do have total blackout, _ of the population. if you do have total blackout, how _ of the population. if you do have total blackout, how does - of the population. if you do have total blackout, how does that i of the population. if you do have i total blackout, how does that impact the country because? surely the country cannot, you know, move, cannot function properly without internet. ~ , , , ., internet. well, yes. the problem for the iranian authorities _ internet. well, yes. the problem for the iranian authorities is _ internet. well, yes. the problem for the iranian authorities is that - internet. well, yes. the problem for the iranian authorities is that iran i the iranian authorities is that iran is nevertheless very dependent on its digital economy. there is a balancing act that the government needs to play between suppressing these protests and at least giving these protests and at least giving the appearance of life as usual. so in practice, what we have seen is that during the early hours of the morning after some of the protests have died down, some connectivity comes back for a while, then it's off again. and you can really see this playing out in real time as authorities really consider perhaps switching to more extreme methods to keep people off line.— keep people off line. mehta has said that whatsapp, _

keep people off line. mehta has said that whatsapp. the _ keep people off line. mehta has said that whatsapp, the umbrella - keep people off line. mehta has said i that whatsapp, the umbrella company, that whatsapp, the umbrella company, that it's working to keep users in iran connected after the country restricted access to the app into instagram. how big a role can these companies play given the amount of the iranian government itself has? big tech companies have a challenge because they straddle different regulatory systems. having no presence in a round means that they have very little sway with the authorities and it's more of a cat and mouse game while authorities try to restrict platforms and find workarounds. often without a huge commercial incentive. so it is a challenge, for now, whatsapp has said that they are trying to keep people connected, but it remains to be seen what kind of solutions they can deliver. it’s be seen what kind of solutions they can deliver-— can deliver. it's good to talk to you- thank _ can deliver. it's good to talk to you. thank you. _ stay with us on outside source — still to come... we'll hear how scientists have slowed and even reversed some of the devastating effects of motor—neurone disease.

unboxed is a year long celebration of creativitiy across the united kingdom. it's had almost a quarter of a million visitors costing the taxpayer £120 million. now the head of an influential parliamentary committee says it's a potentially monumental waste of money. katie razzall explains. sea monster looms over weston—super—mare, a decommissioned gas platform turned into an art installation about the environment. no one really ever these structures close up and they are struck by the sheer scale of it. martin greene is giving me an exclusive tour of the delayed project, the latest from his unboxed festival which celebrates british creativity. but unboxed has cost £120 million of taxpayers' money and is underfire. have you felt under attack? there is a healthy natural cynicism to something new, something different. we are all very proud of it. a festival to showcase britain was initially announced in 2018

by the then prime minister theresa may. ten projects have been opening since march like this story of human life called about us, here in caernarfon. unboxed had an ambitious aim to reach 66 million people. today the chair of an influential parliamentary committee has written to the public spending watchdog, the national audit office, questioning how many visitors the festival has actually had and asking the nao to investigate whether it's been value for money. well, we saw the warning signs. the red lights were flashing on the dashboard of this, and unfortunately it seems we have been proven right by that. the fact is that this has been potentially a monumental waste of money and actually has made very little impact on the country as a whole. on the weston—super—mare seafront, they are certainly interested in this evolving north sea rig, and that is true around the country too, says martin green. the government wanted to invest in creativity. the future ofjobs and skills in this country is around creativity and the creative industries. we wanted to do things big

and bold and ambitious, and that is what we've done. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is.... russia's war in ukraine is heavily condemned at the un security council in new york — the us says russia's president can't get away with "shredding" international order. five british men who were captured by russian backed forces in ukraine have arrived back in the uk. four of the men had been fighting with ukrainian armed forces when they were detaied, while another man, dylan healy, was providing humanitarian assistance. they were released last night as part of a prisoner exchange between russia and ukraine. emma vardy has this report. we just want to let everyone know that we're now out of the danger zone and we're on our way home to ourfamilies... a ticket home, after

months as prisoners. thanks to everyone that's been supporting us. it's really muchly appreciated. the men arrived back at heathrow this morning and were met by their families. for aiden aslin, it meant a long—awaited reunion with his ukrainian fiance, which she called "a miracle". if you're watching this it means that we've surrendered... aiden aslin and shaun pinner had been held by russian—backed separatists since they were captured in april. they'd both moved to ukraine four years ago and joined the ukrainian armed forces, and had been helping to defend the country during the russian invasion. but they were accused of being mercenaries and told they faced the death penalty. liz truss called it "a sham trial in a kangaroo court." they'd been held alongside three other british men, john harding, andrew hill and dylan healy, who were also released today. last night the saudi government confirmed it had been

involved in negotiations to secure their freedom as they arrived in riyadh before heading back to the uk. at the treatment of the men at the hands of russian separatists has been widely condemned. he has been through months and months of terrible treatment. you can only imagine what that has meant for his family back home in newark. it really has been a terrible ordeal for them, not knowing whether they were going to get aiden home or whether, god forbid, the worst would happen to him. aiden aslin arrive back here in his hometown of newark this afternoon. his sudden release had come as a surprise to many people here that know him. his family have told me that at times they worried they may never see him alive again. aiden's mother angela wood told the bbc the way her son had been treated was inhumane. during their months of captivity, the men had been shown on russian tv as part of propaganda efforts

by the kremlin and had been told that the death penalty by firing squad would be carried out. their surprise release came as part of a larger prisoner exchange between ukraine and russia. the smiles hiding the full extent of what they endured. emma vardy, bbc news, newark. rescuers are racing to say 35 surviving pilot whales, the bbc has spoken to the mother of one of the ukrainian fighters, her spoken to the mother of one of the ukrainianfighters, herson spoken to the mother of one of the ukrainian fighters, her son was part of the regiment and has been defending the steelworks and marry you but before he was captured. let's take a listen. t you but before he was captured. let's take a listen.— let's take a listen. i was absolutely _ let's take a listen. i was absolutely surprised i let's take a listen. i was absolutely surprised by. let's take a listen. i was i absolutely surprised by this let's take a listen. i was - absolutely surprised by this event. of absolutely surprised by this event. of course, we decided that it's always like with russia that this is on the rumours, but in this case, it

is it a very happy case for us, i hearfrom him and he sent me a is it a very happy case for us, i hear from him and he sent me a few words that he is in ukraine already. he didn't hearfrom them. we have no connection and we have no possibility to ask them any... because there's no connection, even through organisations like the un or icrc. he was in moscow all of these four months, and he was in a separate sale. as i understood, he was together with the commander, and he wasn't tortured, and as i understood, he is in a good mood. he has a good voice, very optimistic about...

a breakthrough in medicine. scientists say they have slowed and even reversed some of the devastating effects of motor—neurone disease. we're going to hearfrom one of those scientists in a moment but first — let's take a look at what motor neurone disease is and how it affects people. so mnd — also known as amyotrophic—lateral sclerosis — is caused by the death of the nerves that carry messages from the brain to people's muscles. as the nerves become damaged, the muscles they control weaken and waste. it dramatically reduces life expectancy in most but not all cases. here is stephen hawking — the world's best—known physicist — he was given a life expectancy of just two years but lived for a further 55, after his diagnosis. the research was carried out, in part, by the neuroscience institute at sheffield university in england — here's director professor dame pamela shaw talking about their discoveries. 2% of patients with mnd

have a slight fault in this sod1 gene, and what the therapy does, it has to be injected to be at a lumbar puncture into the spinalfluid, and it lowers the level of the sod1 protein and the toxic effects that arise from that protein. so that was professor dame pamela shaw talking about the drug tofersen. now let's look at a breakdown of how the drug works in the body. first of all — instructions for building sod1 are locked inside dna in the cell's nucleus. then they are carried by a short strand of genetic code, messenger rna this creates the toxic protein. the drug then kills the messenger and — crucially — prevents the creation of toxic proteins. but if the treatment works in only 2% of patients why has it been described as a breakthrough. here's professor shaw again. so we know that there

are at least 30 genes that can cause or predispose you to motor neurone disease. sod1 was the first gene that was found back in 1993, so i think it's really important proof of principal that can cause that can cause it, that can cause an md, so that approach can be applied to other genetic subgroups, but also very important in this trial is that we've now got proteins called biomarker is that we can measure to show that a treatment is working. so we could measure the reduced level of the sod1 protein in the spinalfluid, we could measure reduction of narrow filament proteins that are released as motor neurons get injured and degenerate. this treatment lowered the level of those proteins,

so that is a marker that we've got that will enable us to tell if an experimental treatment is working at an early stage. some news that we brought you yesterday about the wales stranded in tasmania. rescuers are racing to save 35 surviving pilot whales, following the latest mass stranding in tasmania. they're trying to float the remaining whales, after a large pod became stranded at ocean beach on wednesday. 200 have died. originally the pod was 230 in size. the main challenge has been lifting the survivng animals to float them, with pilot whales weighing up to 2.5 tonnes. once floated, they are moved by boat to deeper water and released. it's feared some of the survivors may be too weakened to make it.

that is that from me and the team. thank you for staying with us. you are watching outside source on the bbc. hello. it's been a bit grey and rainy for some of us today. i think the chances are it'll be a little bit better tomorrow. but here's the headline — in the next few days, it is going to turn colder — significantly, infact, particularly across northern parts of the uk. cold enough for thick coats, as temperatures may struggle to reach ten degrees. now, right now a cold front is crossing the uk. this is the first of two which will be crossing the uk over the next few days. now, this one has brought the wet weather to northern parts of the country through thursday. and actually, as we go through the course of this evening and into tomorrow, this cold front will reach southern parts of the uk, where it will actually stall for a while. so here it is through the course of this evening, rain in parts of wales, the midlands, southeastern

and southern england. but the rain won't be quite as persistent, whereas elsewhere, further north, the skies are going to clear. not too cold in the south — 1a degrees, a little bit fresher there in glasgow and edinburgh, around seven celsius or so. so here's the forecast for tomorrow — we wake up to plenty of sunshine across many parts of the country, but the south may, at times, be cloudy through the afternoon, and we could have some outbreaks of rain as well. still some of that warmth left in the south, 20 celsius in cardiff, 18 celsius in norwich and hull, but in aberdeen and also in the lowlands as well as belfast, around 15 celsius. that was friday, let's have a look at saturday. look at the wind direction — it's coming in from the north. it's also pushing in a few showers along the north sea, so it could feel quite chilly here. 13 celsius, maybe, only in newcastle. temperatures still in the mid or high teens across the south of the uk. all in all, not a bad saturday, i think, for most of us. and then sunday and into monday, this is the second cold front that will be moving across the uk. remember, i mentioned there are two

— and in fact, this cold front is going to bring the colder air, and it really will be quite breezy, quite gusty as well for some of us. in fact, if you look at the air mass graphic or the temperature of the atmosphere, you can see some blue colours here, that stream of colder air from the northern climes. so monday, tuesday and probably wednesday will be the coldest next week. in some places, temperatures will be around 12 or 13 celsius, only 1a celsius in london. but there are indications that towards the end of next week, it could turn a little bit milder again. bye— bye.

hello and welcome to bbc news. our headlines today: the bank of england raises interest rates to a 1k year high of 2.25%. to tackle soaring prices as it predicts that the uk may already be in recession. more money for social care in england to help free up nhs beds, but critics say it is just thinking a ring around the edges. when you get to the detail of what she has an it really doesn't stand up she has an it really doesn't stand up to the challenge of what we are facing across health and social care. ministers lift their ban on fracking in england in a bid to increase energy production. but one conservative mp from a potential fracking area has reminded the prime minister of her campaign pledge.

under no circumstance would fracking take place