this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the top stories at 10pm. the labour leader, sir keir starmer is in liverpool for his party conference. he tells crowds he'll set out the dividing lines between labour and the new tory government. and 12 after long years of tory failure, didn't they just show their true colours, yesterday? cheering. their driving ideology — make the rich richer and do nothing for working people. the chancellor, kwasi kwarteng, has defended his tax cuts aimed at boosting economic growth, saying they're fair for all — but they're receiving a mixed reaction from the public. it will help, yes, to a degree but it depends what bracket you're in, of course, in terms of income. i mean, does that. even touch the sides? i don't know, we'll see. violent anti—government

protests continue in iran. police have arrested more than 700 people — at least 35 people have been killed. world powers condemn the self—styled referendums being held in parts of ukraine on whether to join russia. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has arrived in liverpool ahead of the start of the party's annual conference. he's condemned the package of tax cuts unveiled yesterday, by the chancellor — calling them "tory casino economics", which — he says — are gambling with the finances of every family in the country. the government insists its package of measures, including scrapping the top rate of income tax,

will help kickstart economic growth. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. labour has been out of power for more than a decade but they now believe their political fortunes could be turning around. just as their party conference gets under way, liz truss has made the political dividing lines with the opposition far more stark. applause arriving in liverpool, the labour leader believes this will work to his advantage. and after 12 long years of tory failure, didn't they just show their true colours yesterday? crowd: , and earlier, the party's deputy leader argued that yesterday's tax—cutting, not so mini budget, had now given labour an opportunity to set out a distinct vision on the economy. the conservatives have failed to grow our economy over 12 years and now we're seeing that there is a last—ditch casino attempt at going for the risky strategy byjust helping those at the top. i don't believe that will give us

the growth and investment we need for the future or will help those that are working hard today. over loudspeaker: # my city, my people, my heart. but not everything in the wider labour movement is harmonious. keir starmer has told his senior mps to stay away from picket lines but not far from his conference a strike has flared up at liverpool docks. the people on the picket line here are members of unite, the union that gives more money to the labour party than any other. that union's leader met keir starmer in recent days and what she wants to see is a more ambitious economic policy from him and perhaps, unsurprisingly, far more support for striking workers. i think that he wants to make it very clear that he's supporting workers and the reality is actions will speak louder than words. for me, jam tomorrow does not pay the bills as far as workers are concerned.

and therefore, today is the time that they are struggling, today is the time they're on the picket lines, today is the time that they want labour to put their arm around them. this is a crucial moment, a crucial conference for us on the left... and left—wing delegates are pushing for a motion to be debated that would support mps joining picket lines and which would call for pay rises to be at or above inflation. but keir starmer will be keen to show that his party has emerged from the political storms of thejeremy corbyn era, and that the clear blue water in british politics is now between government and opposition. iain watson, bbc news, liverpool. earlier, our political correspondent, damian grammaticas, gave us the latest from liverpool. even before yesterday's budget, which to all intents and purposes it pretty much was that, they were going to focus on what they call a fairer, greenerfuture and i think in many ways they will feel that this has even sharpened up the focus on that. in that they believe there are issues of fairness they can attack the government on for what was announced yesterday,

the distribution of those tax cuts, where the vast majority of the benefits accrue to the very richest, people earning over £150,000, over £1 million, getting many benefits from it or large tax reductions. those on the lowest incomes getting much smaller ones. the government will say that is because if you are on a higher income you pay more tax but labour saying that the fairness of this is what they will focus on. and the issue about who should be really footing the bill here so looking at things like that top rate of tax, that 45% rate, that is something that the government has said it will be scrapping and that is something they say should not be happening. equally, not going ahead with corporation tax on the biggest companies, the rise that was going to come through, tax and the biggest companies. labour, again, saying those sorts of firms, the biggest firms, should be forcing some of the bill. and particularly the big energy companies should be footing more of the bill in the energy crisis.

aligned with that, they certainly say they should be more focus on, in an energy crisis, energy measures that would sort of future proof the economy. go growing renewables, insulating homes, that sort of thing so growing renewables, insulating homes, that sort of thing that the focus should be there rather than subsidising or using the situation, at the minute, which will be what they say the oil and gas companies continuing to make big profits. so, labour pushing on that sort of thing and thinking that that budget yesterday gives them an opportunity. all is not well in the labour camp or rather their supporters when we look at the unions.— look at the unions. considerable dis uiet. look at the unions. considerable disquiet the — look at the unions. considerable disquiet. the unions _ look at the unions. considerable disquiet. the unions and - look at the unions. considerable disquiet. the unions and their. disquiet. the unions and their members feeling under huge pressure in the cost of living crisis. but looking to the labour leadership for more support. just a short time ago

i was at an event already happening hillbilly delegates are arriving and it mainly gets going tomorrow —— happening and the delegates. those on the left of the labour party and some very angry voices. some mps, others from big unions, who are saying that the labour party, the clue, they were saying, is in the name. the party to support those from the working classes. they said mps should be allowed to be out on picket lines, supporting strikes. sir keir starmer, as you were hearing, has said that top mps in the party should not be there. that is something they will be trying to push in conference to be debated to say that the leadership should allow that. that is one issue. another issue, of course, is going to be some of those on the left calling for, in the current climate, nationalisation of energy companies, water companies, rail companies.

they will try and push some of those ideas. we will discover tomorrow what will be formally on the conference agenda to be debated, thatis conference agenda to be debated, that is to be decided by the conference. that will be clarified tomorrow. worth saying too that there is not really a sense that sir keir starmer�*s leadership is under any threat. in many ways, he is enjoying at the minute what have been opinion poll leads suggested by opinion polls in recent months. and a new prime minister who hasjust brought in this raft of tax policy changes, which labour believes gives a clear opportunity that can distinguish itself from the new government. and both the labour leader and the chancellor will be on sunday with laura kuenessberg — tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock. a leading think tank — the resolution foundation — has said that middle income earners, stand to lose the most money from the tax policies announced yesterday by the government — with the very richest

benefiting most. but the government insists the tax cuts are fair to all — and will get the economy growing. our business correspondent, marc ashdown, reports. a bit more money for everyone will get businesses investing and people spending — that's the government's aim — but at this market in buckinghamshire there's scepticism about who will benefit most from these tax cuts. well, the higher end are going to be a lot better off, but lower end, is it a penny? it's nothing. considering the cost of living and inflation and the bills. it will take six months to kick in, really, won't it? and see if it does help. just hopefully it does. according to the thinktank the resolution foundation, the top 5% of earners will overall be about £2,500 better off, while the lowest 5% will be about £9 worse off, but the middle fifth of earners, labelled by some as the squeezed middle,

will be about £780 worse off. this was a budget where the distributional impact was very clearly. . . the biggest gains goes to those who have the highest incomes. it's a growth or bust kind of strategy, which is certainly different to what we have seen before. a lot of what was announced yesterday was simply reversing planned tax rises, personal and corporate, and ministers insist these plans will grow the economy for everyone. we're not into the politics of envy, where we deliberately penalise people who have been working hard. we want to cut taxes for everybody. and the danger, by the way, if you have tax rates that are too high, for either companies or individuals — you drive them away. the previous chancellor froze the basic rate at which everyone starts paying tax which, with inflation so high, is currently leaving everyone worse off. treasury insiders confirm that might now be looked at as part of a wider review of all taxes. a full budget could be on the cards before the year is out. the chancellor might not be done with tax cuts just yet. marc ashdown, bbc news.

reports suggest that authorities have regained control of large parts of a town in western iran from anti—government demonstrators. the protesters had briefly seized large parts of the city of 0osh—nevyeh, which lies close to the border with iraq. footage appeared to show protesters in control of the town. police say about 740 people have been arrested nationwide, including 60 women, after protests were sparked by the death in custody of a woman who'd allegedly broken dress rules. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent, jiyar gol. it was a city, a small kurdish town, but it was the city on the first day of the protests, three people, three young people died there and i could hear them actually shouting "freedom, we will take revenge for those martyrs" and "you have nowhere to go". and last night, actually, we managed to get in touch with some people because

close to the iraqi border, sometimes the signal from iraqi kurdishtan, they can pick it up. so we talked to some people and they were telling us many of the officials left the city, or they took their families out of the city. they went to the place where there was a military of revolutionary guard barracks. but at this point in time, we know in the morning the protesters somehow went back, they come out at night. so, they have been doing house by house. they've arrested so many people. but it is notjust in that city. in multiple different cities in iran, as i'm talking to you again, it's night, two and a half hours, or maybe three and a half hours ahead of us, we are hearing numbers of people are out in the street in some neighbourhoods, in some of the cities. the police cannot even go because they are using cocktail molotovs and attacking them with stones. so, the protest is continuing in so many different places as we talk. how do these protests compare to those in 2009 when we look at the crackdown from the government?

first of all, there's a saying in the middle east, "if women lead, men don't retreat." when you see so many women going out there, standing up to revolutionary generals, removing their head scarves, something is punishable, and we see so many people there... but by internet outage, judging from past experience, the fear so many people have — the government might deal with this protest heavy handedly. in might, you know, use force, which we have seen the footage — they are using live ammunition and directly aiming at protesters with weapons. is the... i'm just thinking of the context and background to what we are seeing on the streets in iran now. generally, what is the state of the economy and the country? is there a much deeper malaise going on? i think, for so many years, women, they imposing this strict

islamic rules on women, controlling them. and many women, well educated, they see it as a humiliation. on top of it, corruption, economic situation in iran, sanction and inflation, unemployment. there are so many elements. hand to hand and people believe the government, day after day lying to them and they don't care about their future. the current situation of the economy — that is why so many young people who have been educated in the system have nothing to lose. they are out there in the street. reports from ukraine say armed soldiers have been going door—to—door in occupied parts of the country to collect votes for self—styled "referendums", onjoining russia. russian state media says door—to—door voting is necessary for security reasons. these are the four areas where voting is being held. they include occupied parts of luhansk and donetsk in the east,

and zaporizhzhia and kherson, in the south — and cover around 15 percent of ukraine's territory. the so—called referendums have been widely condemned. the us president, joe biden, described them as a sham — and a false pretext to try to illegally annex parts of ukraine. 0ur ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, reports from kyiv. russia's version of their so—called referendums. a free and fair democratic process where ukrainians in kherson decide whether they want to join russia. but, on the same spot today, in the city centre, it's deserted. ukrainian officials have posted footage like this. loud knocking apparently ballots being taken door—to—door, with the support of armed men. on this unverified cctv clip, a man is asked what apartment he's from. "i don't live here."

"are you sure?" "yes," he says. he carries on down without looking over his shoulder. we've spoken to several people under russian occupation... outgoing dialling tone. hello. hi, bleep. ..including natalia — not her real name. nice to hear you, too. a producer has voiced her words. what are your friends and family thinking about this? do they want to go and vote? translation: all of my friends are against the referendum, - because we are sure that the referendum will be rigged. we don't understand why we should answer the question that is written on the ballots. we don't want to be part of russia. driven by losses on the battlefield and growing criticisms back home, the kremlin wants to legitimise its presence in ukraine, while threatening an escalation if ukraine keeps pushing back. this isn't about democracy.

it's a move straight out of the russian playbook. the result will be what russia needs it to be. and ukraine is calling on the world to see right through it. james waterhouse, bbc news, in kyiv. human rights groups say more than 700 people have been arrested at anti—war protests in russia, since president putin called up reservists to fight in ukraine. his decision to mobilise hundreds of thousands of extra troops has also led to big queues of people trying to leave the country. this is the border between georgia and russia where a 10—kilometre queue has been building, with people waiting up to 20 hours to cross. tomila lankina is a professor of international relations at the london school of economics and political science — she gave me more details about those trying to leave russia.

people attempting to leave russia are people who can afford to do so. and it is the informed segment of russian population. because there is still a large chunk of russian society that is in denial. what we are witnessing now is actually a turn, a shift in the awareness of that other larger percentage of the population that have been... have had the wool over their eyes but are now realising that war has actually come to russia. but the people who are fleeing are people who can afford to do so, who have the resources, and who are informed and who have been aware, perhaps for a long time or perhaps recently have become aware, of the reality of the aggression that russia is pursuing in ukraine. but also that this is now personally affecting many more people than has been the case before. but the interesting thing to observe

is that the people who have been perhaps watching russian propaganda and not as informed as the kind of liberal maybe moscow and st petersburg—based middle—class groups, they are also realising that, you know, the war is affecting them personally. it is an interesting shift to observe, people in villages and rural areas, who are not necessarily all willingly responding to this call to come to the conscription centres and be taken away, they are actually thinking about plan a, plan b, what should they do? what is interesting is that their opinion now is shifting. anecdotally, and i have friends and family in russia, anecdotally, even people who have been very, very supportive of the regime, some of them live in rural areas, don't have very many sources of information, they watch state propaganda news,

all of a sudden, they are realising that their nephews and sons are being taken away. and possibly taken very quickly to face certain death as cannon fodder in this war they are becoming critical of the regime in the way but perhaps they haven't been before. and that is something interesting to observe. because i think there is a massive... we are observing a shift in public opinion, of this layer of the population that have not been very informed orjust simply thought that the war is not something that affects them. it is very different when it is impacting on you personally. for those who are leaving, those images at the border, for example, we showed the border between georgia and russia, it is not the best optics for president putin. are they being allowed to leave safely? at the moment, i think the reality of russia is that it is a country that...

we think of it as a totalising state, much like the stalin system was. but much like the soviet system, even under stalin, even during the darkest decades and years of repression, it was still a not very well... ..managed country in the sense that, for instance, you can have people escaping from one region to another. even within russia, to avoid getting the conscription notice or if they get that notice, they can move to another region but the record keeping is so poor and so primitive, in many cases, it is on paper. by the way, there have also been arsons, which have intensified, of the conscription commissariats. arson, people trying to set them on fire or throw molotov cocktails at these centres. so, the reality of bureaucratically organising this conscription is also something that is a mirror

into russian bureaucracy and russian mismanagement. and the weak... the limited resources that these regional officials have, who have been receiving quotas. anecdotally, for instance, we know that some villages which only have 150 people will have received a quota of ten people, ten men, they have to provide. and there are not that many men in a lot of these villages because they are dying. that is the demographic reality of russia. indeed, the optics are not good because the people are also amassing on the borders with georgia and other countries in russia's southern frontiers. 0k...

the reality is that, so far, the borders... russian officials are not preventing this exodus or they are not preventing it as effectively perhaps. 0k. but the optics are not good. russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, has criticised western nations for their "grotesque" fear of russia — saying that such states were seeking to "destroy" his country. addressing the united nations general assembly earlier this evening, mr lavrov was highly critical of washington and what he described as �*russophobia' in the west. translation: washington is trying to turn the entire world _ into its own backyard and the way of doing this is through unlawful unilateral sanctions, which have been for many years used in violation of the charter and used as a tool of political blackmail. this cynicism here is

obvious because these restrictions hit civilians. nasa has called off another scheduled launch of its historic uncrewed mission to the moon — which was due to take place on tuesday. tropical storm ian is set to be strengthening in the coming days as it approaches florida. it follows two postponments of the artemis mission at the end of august. the first picture of the new ledger stone, marking the queen's final resting place in windsor, has been released by buckingham palace. it's engraved in memory of the queen, her parents and her late husband, the duke of edinburgh. it sits in the floor of the george sixth memorial chapel where she was buried on monday. a gym in cornwall is harnessing the power of boxing

to help improve the lives of people with parkinson's. club members with the condition — who call themselves the parky blinders — say special training sessions are helping with some symptoms of the disease. andy birkett has been speaking to some of them. parkinson's is an awful disease. it started to affect my speech. my left side started to tremor. sleepless nights. anxiety. depression. life—changing symptoms. boxing training can't cure or reverse the disease but it really can help. i took itook up i took up boxing a year ago at this club. personally. it has helped with my tremors and a lot of my speech has come back now. it is so good for your coordination. you have to remember a lot of things. — you have to remember a lot of things. a — you have to remember a lot of things, a lot of moves. we do a lot of fun tasks for memory as well as your arms and legs and so it is good for your brain. you get a lot of balance issues with parkinsons and it helps with balance as well. the group, who are based all over cornwall love a good pun and have named

themselves the parky blinders. asa as a nod to the hit bbc programme the peaky blinders. it hasn't gone unnoticed with nigel travis, who played erasmus lee. by the order of the parky blinders, i reckon you're going to change - some lives using boxing. i've heard all about your project and i think it is a wonderful- thing that you're doing and it genuinely sounds fantastic. i i wish you all the best - and i hope to see you soon. god bless. don't be fooled — it's not all exercise. the sessions usually end with cake. the social network that people have created around the group is so satisfying, because there seem to be a little bit of a gap in that. and also, i havejust made lovely friends. it is fantastic and i'm learning more, especially the afterwards when we come and socialise, you learn so much more about them, about their medications, how it affects them. then i can tailor what we do to more assist them. so it's almost like a one—to—one session within the group. having secured funding, this pilot scheme got the green light

at the start of the year. the parky blinders are now hoping to branch out and offer other activities to help support people with the disease. but i suspect cake will be involved, whatever they do. andy burkett, bbc news. a uk euromillions player has won £171 million in last night's draw. this morning, thatjackpot winner is now richer than adele or ozzy osbourne. the prize is the uk's third—largest ever — just 16 uk players have won more than £100 million in the lottery�*s history. wow. now it's time for a look at the weather. a chilly start to sunday with a touch of frost in one or two spots, mist and fog but a dry and sunny start and fog but a dry and sunny start and a dry day ahead, isolated showers for england and wales. into the afternoon north—west england that north west wales. more often in

showers in scotland and northern ireland but many will be dry until later in the day as the band of heavy rain sweeps into the north—west with the strong to gale force winds. temperatures down on recent days and it will feel cold there with the wind strengthening further across northern scotland. rain in the evening, scotland and northern ireland it will push across england and wales over night leading to clear skies and a scattering of showers. windy end to the night, stopping temperatures from dropping as low as we go into monday morning. cold day on monday. and they called starting next week with the strength of that win. a mixture of sunshine and showers and some showers heavy and showers and some showers heavy and thundery.

labour says the government's tax cuts will benefit the richest 1% and saddle the next generation with more debt. the labour leader sir kier starmer has arrived for his party's conference in liverpool saying the conservatives are showing their true colours. their driving ideology — make the rich richer and do nothing for working people. but the government said today it's cutting taxes for people on all incomes. also tonight... one of the britons released after being captured by pro—russian forces in ukraine says he was treated worse than a dog and feared for his life. i saw myself i'd been stabbed so i knew there was a very high possibility that i'm about to be killed. claims that russian soldiers are going door to door, helping force people to vote in sham referendums in occupied areas of ukraine. cheering

and st helens win a record fourth super league grand final in a row, beating leeds at old trafford. good evening. the labour leader sir keir starmer has arrived in liverpool for the party's annual conference. he's condemned the package of tax cuts unveiled yesterday by the chancellor, calling them "tory casino economics" which — he says — are gambling with the finances of every family in the country. the government insists its measures, which include scrapping the top rate of income tax, will help to kickstart economic growth. this report from our political correspondent iain watson contains some flashing images.

labour has been out of power for more than a decade but they now believe their political fortunes could be turning around. just as their party conference gets under way, liz truss has made the political dividing lines with the opposition far more stark. applause arriving in liverpool, the labour leader believes this will work to his advantage. after 12 long years of tory failure, didn't they just show their true colours yesterday? crowd: yes! and tonight he warmed to his theme, rallying the crowds by turning to yesterday's not so mini budget. it yesterday's not so mini budget. if you are earning over £1 million you got £55,000 of tax cuts yesterday, enough for the salary of a nurse, thatis enough for the salary of a nurse, that is what we have. the enough for the salary of a nurse, that is what we have.— that is what we have. the labour leader attacked _

that is what we have. the labour leader attacked his _ that is what we have. the labour leader attacked his conservative | leader attacked his conservative opponents in rather unparliamentary language. it is opponents in rather unparliamentary lanaauae. , ., ., language. it is not trickle-down, it is a mickey — language. it is not trickle-down, it is a mickey take. _ over loudspeaker: my city, my people, my heart. - my city, my people, my heart. but not everything in the wider labour movement is harmonious. keir starmer has told his senior mps to stay away from picket lines but not far from his conference a strike has flared up at liverpool docks. the people on the picket line here are members of unite, the union that gives more money to the labour party than any other. that union's leader met keir starmer in recent days and what she wants to see is a more ambitious economic policy from him and perhaps, unsurprisingly, far more support for striking workers. i think he wants to make it very clear that he's supporting workers and the reality is actions will speak louder than words. for me, jam tomorrow does not pay the bills as far as workers are concerned. and therefore, today is the time they are struggling, today is the time they are on the picket lines, today is the time

that they want labour to put their arm around them. this is a crucial conference for us on the left... and left—wing delegates are pushing for a motion to be debated that would support mps joining picket lines and which would call for pay rises to be at or above inflation. but keir starmer will be keen to show that his party has emerged from the political storms of thejeremy corbyn era, and that the clear blue water in british politics is now between government and opposition. iain watson, bbc news, liverpool. a leading think tank — the resolution foundation — has said that middle income earners stand to lose the most money from the tax policies announced yesterday by the government, with the very richest benefitting most. but the government insists the tax cuts are fair to all and will get the economy growing. our business correspondent marc ashdown reports. a bit more money for everyone will get businesses investing and people spending, that's the government's aim,

but at this market in buckinghamshire there is scepticism about who will benefit most from these tax cuts. well, the higher end will be a lot better off, but the lower end, is it a penny? it's nothing. considering the cost of living and inflation and the bills. it will take six months to kick in, really, and to see if it does help. just hopefully it does. according to the thinktank the resolution foundation according to the thinktank the top 5% of earners will overall be about £2,500 better off, while the lowest 5% will be about £9 worse off, but the middle fifth of earners, labelled by some as the "squeezed middle," will be about £780 worse off. this was a budget where the distributional impact was clearly, the biggest gains go to those who have the highest incomes. it's a growth or bust kind of strategy which is certainly different to what we have seen before. a lot of what was announced yesterday was simply reversing planned tax rises, personal and corporate.

ministers insist these plans will grow the economy for everyone. we're not into the politics of envy where we deliberately penalise people who have been working hard. we want to cut taxes for everybody. the danger, by the way, if you have tax rates that are too high, for either companies or individuals, you drive them away. the previous chancellor froze the basic rate at which everyone starts paying tax which, with inflation so high, is currently leaving everyone worse off. treasury insiders confirm that might now be looked at as part of a wider review of all taxes. a full budget could be on the cards before the year is out. the chancellor might not be done with tax cuts just yet. marc ashdown, bbc news. back to iain watson now in liverpool. so the government have set out their economic vision. how important is this week, this party conference, for labour and keir starmer? hugely important. talking to people

here, at the various receptions, there's a feeling that voters might be looking afresh at labour but there is a concern that the party might simply rely on a on liz truss and the conservatives change of direction to gain support, but those close to the labour leader says they will be new policy announcements this week and there will be one announced by the leader himself tomorrow, to make uk electricity general carbon free by 2030, five years earlier than the government the big challenge for keir starmer is, does he look as though he can beat an alternative government and if he does, well, is he prepared for a lot more scrutiny? —— does he look as though he can lead an alternative government. iain watson, many thanks. russian troops are reported to be going door to door in occupied regions of ukraine, forcing people to vote in a series of so—called "referendums" onjoining russia. the g7 group of wealthiest nations has condemned what it says are sham referendums and ukraine has dismissed the process as a farce.

0ur ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports. russia's version of their so—called referendums. a free and fair democratic process where ukrainians in kherson decide whether they want to join russia. but, on the same spot today, in the city centre, it's deserted. ukrainian officials have posted footage like this. loud knocking apparently, ballots being taken door—to—door, with the support of armed men. on this unverified cctv clip, a man is asked what apartment he is from. "i don't live here." "are you sure?" "yes", he says. he carries on down without looking over his shoulder. we have spoken to several people under russian occupation. outgoing dialling tone

hello. including natalia — not her real name. nice to hear you, too. a producer has voiced her words. what are your friends and family thinking about this? do they want to go and vote? translation: all of my friends are against the referendum. - because we are sure that the referendum will be rigged. we don't understand why we should answer the question that is written on the ballots. we don't want to be part of russia. driven by losses on the battlefield and growing criticisms back home, the kremlin wants to legitimise its presence in ukraine, while threatening an escalation if ukraine keeps pushing back. this isn't about democracy. it's a move straight out of the russian playbook. the result will be what russia needs it to be. and ukraine is calling on the world to see right through it. james waterhouse, bbc news, in kyiv.

a british man — freed this week after being held by russian—backed forces in ukraine — has said he was treated worse than a dog and thought he could be killed in captivity. speaking to the sun on sunday, aiden aslin, who's now back in the uk, described how he was stabbed by a russian officer. he was one of five britons freed as part of a prisoner exchange between russia and ukraine. simon jones has more. we're now out of the danger zone... the flight that took aiden aslin to his freedom after months in captivity. he said he was treated worse than a dog. in my cell, it was a two—man cell, but it was for four people because we had to sleep on the same bed, on a mat that was infested with lice. we also had to sing the russian national anthem every morning and if we didn't sing it you would get punished for it. you could get beaten or they would punish you some way or another. aiden aslin moved to ukraine four

years ago and had joined the ukrainian armed forces. if you are watching this, it means we have surrendered. but his unit was forced to surrender in april. he was held with other prisoners by russian—backed separatists. in donetsk, he said interrogation by a russian officer almost cost him his life. he got down on his knees and he was smoking a cigarette and he was like, "do you know who i am?" i was like, "no." he said, "i'm your death," basically, in russian. i saw myself, i'd been stabbed, so i knew there was a very high possibility that i'm about to be killed. now freed, in a deal brokered by saudi arabia between russia and ukraine, aiden aslin says he is amazed to be back home and among people who don't want to hurt him. simon jones, bbc news. iran's president has said he will "deal decisively" with anti—government protests that have left more than 30 people dead and spread

to cities across the country. demonstrators have clashed with riot police in many provinces — they've been protesting for more than a week after the death in police custody of a 22 year old woman accused of wearing her hijab in the wrong way. the first picture of the new burial stone marking the queen's final resting place has been released by buckingham palace. the ledger stone has been set into the floor of the george vi memorial chapel at windsor castle, where she was buried alongside her late husband prince philip on monday. members of the public will be able to visit the chapel in person from thursday. with all the sport now, here's chetan pathak at the bbc sport centre. good evening. we start at old trafford where st helens won a record breaking fourth consecutive super league grand final, after comfortably beating leeds rhinos 24—12. it ensured st helens�* departing head coach kristian woolf had the perfect send off as adam wild reports.

he walked to old trafford is one of the most prized journeys in rugby league and leeds fans had may be not expected to get here this year. st helens fans expect nothing less. three titles in three years, lifting trophies, they have had plenty of practice. 0n trophies, they have had plenty of practice. on this greatest age, the biggest atmosphere experience counts plenty, and saints got through in an instance, matty lees with the opening score. leeds immediately clinging on by theirfingertips. saints were pressing further in front, jon bennison saints were pressing further in front, now iennison i,” 7.2: ,, 7 saints were pressing further in front, now desperate ,, ti ,, , saints were pressing further in front, now desperate for; 75: ,, , saints were pressing further in front, now desperate for a f ,, , leeds now desperate for a way back but with all routes blocked, they stretched and the of first stretched and the stery ef the first with a twist. back? half ended with a twist. fight back? there's a reason why saints have dominated for so long, and this was their show of strength. konrad hurrell once a leeds player, a painful .

a painful reminder of what have missed. no side has ever for and 1 another n 7 7 another was matter of time. —— touched just a matte ef “he —— “131194 .,,, 7" here history. i3st 3 r“3”a 3f “he —— “331334 ..3, .-3 here history. st down. and so here is history. st helens, champions, for a fourth consecutive year. the best year once again and it now the best team this competition has ever seen. adam wild, bbc news. scotland are a step closer to being promoted to the top tier of the nations league after they came from behind to beat ireland at hampden park. ryan christie's penalty eight minutes from time ensured a 2—1win. as long as scotland don't lose to ukraine on tuesday night they'll win their group. and there was a dramatic comeback from northern ireland, who recovered from a goal down to beat kosovo in stoppage time josh magennis making it 2—1. that ended their 1a game run without a win in the nations league.