this is bbc news. i'm luxmy gopal, and these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world: the ukrainian military now says it has encircled russian forces in the strategic eastern town of lyman, in the donetsk region, which was annexed by russia yesterday. large parts of britain's train network grind to a complete halt as 50,000 workers stage a walkout in the biggest rail strike so far over pay and conditions. the action is getting stronger and the public are behind us, so we are really committed to it. we want a resolution, and if the government can change their attitude, we can get a resolution very quickly. millions of people in the uk begin paying more for gas and electricity as the new energy price cap comes into force.

making landfall in the us for a second time — hurricane ian strikes south carolina with heavy rain and powerful winds after leaving a trail of devastation in florida and cuba. and introducing 0ptimus — the tech billionaire elon musk presents the latest prototype of a humanoid robot which he hopes will eliminate poverty. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. ukraine appears to be pressing ahead with its efforts to liberate russian—held areas of the country. that's despite vladimir putin's declaration that four occupied regions are now part of russia. the ukrainian military now says it

has encircled russian forces in the strategic eastern town of lyman. and the ukrainian flag has been raised on the outskirts. it's impossible to independently verify the claims. 0ur correspondent, hugo bachega, is following developments from kyiv. ukrainians are saying that this changes nothing, everything that happened in moscow yesterday was a farce, that the announcements have no legal value, no legitimacy. they say they are going ahead with the offensive to retake towns and villages that are now under russian occupation. those four regions of ukraine — donetsk, luhansk, zaporizhzhia and kherson — are only partially occupied by the russians and fighting continues. in the last hour, we had a military spokesperson saying that the ukrainian forces have now encircled the strategically important city of lyman in the donetsk region. this is a major hub for the russians

to resupply their troops in the east of the country. so now it seems that the ukrainians have managed to encircle this town, the town of lyman, with thousands of russian troops now completely cut off. and if they manage to retake the city, it is going to be a major victory for the ukrainians. this is happening obviouslyjust hours after that announcement by president putin that russia was going ahead with the annexation of these four regions of ukraine, an announcement that has been rejected by the ukrainians and also by most countries around the world. now let's speak to dr vlad mykhnenko, an associate professor at the university of oxford, who isjoining me live from in birmingham. thank you so much forjoining us. first of all, i know that your family, you are from that area,

donetsk, and yourfamily is family, you are from that area, donetsk, and your family is from mariupol, how does it feel seeing this announcement of annexation for areas including your home town? i think it is important for us to sort of look at this in the perspective that, on the one hand, nothing has changed, as your correspondent has just pointed out, and everything has changed. personally for me, of course, i am waiting for the liberation of the donbas area and waiting to hear the news about my personal relatives who are lost in the city of mariupol. i have not beenin the city of mariupol. i have not been in touch with him for now six months. i do not know what is happening there. it is important to understand that in the way that the annexation or this illegal act yesterday by president putin has not changed the dynamic on the front line. it is very much in favour of ukrainian troops. however, i need to say that i think everything has changed, as well, because i think yesterday's actions and also the

blowing up of nord stream pipeline is in the baltic sea a couple of days ago, i think those are the last escalation by putin to burn the bridges behind him. he is in the corner and effectively there is hardly anything left, apart from the horrible usage of weapons for him to use for escalation.— use for escalation. ukrainian forces are pushing — use for escalation. ukrainian forces are pushing back— use for escalation. ukrainian forces are pushing back around _ use for escalation. ukrainian forces are pushing back around lyman, i use for escalation. ukrainian forces i are pushing back around lyman, what does that tell us about russian strength and the strength of the ukrainian fightback? the ukrainian fiahtback ukrainian fightback? the ukrainian fightback has _ ukrainian fightback? the ukrainian fightback has been _ ukrainian fightback? the ukrainian fightback has been strong - ukrainian fightback? the ukrainian fightback has been strong in - ukrainian fightback? the ukrainian fightback has been strong in the i fightback has been strong in the north of donbas. it has been very spectacular. as lyman collapses today, the roads towards the north—east of the donbas will be open for the ukrainian troops to move further, to other key lines of

defence for the russians. effectively, it could be that the north of luhansk will be liberated in the following couple of weeks, which obviously will torpedo any claims by moscow about the annexation of these territories. ukraine is reporting that the director of the nuclear power plant in zaporizhzhia has been detained by the russians. how worrying a development as this and what could that lead to?— development as this and what could that lead to? , , that lead to? moscow has been using vafious that lead to? moscow has been using various types — that lead to? moscow has been using various types of _ that lead to? moscow has been using various types of blackmail, _ that lead to? moscow has been using various types of blackmail, nuclear i various types of blackmail, nuclear blackmail is one of the key cards here. playing with the subregion nuclear power plant and its safety and the worry is that we all have for the safety of that, the largest nuclear power station in europe, could cause a big problem. to some extent, the international community has not been really scared by that particular attempt from putin, shelling the station and blaming the

ukrainians, playing on those fears. however, it isjust ukrainians, playing on those fears. however, it is just one of the small steps of escalation. however, it isjust one of the small steps of escalation.— steps of escalation. thank you for takin: the steps of escalation. thank you for taking the time _ steps of escalation. thank you for taking the time to _ steps of escalation. thank you for taking the time to speak- steps of escalation. thank you for taking the time to speak to i steps of escalation. thank you for taking the time to speak to us i steps of escalation. thank you for taking the time to speak to us at | taking the time to speak to us at what is an ongoing worrying time for you and yourfamily. thank what is an ongoing worrying time for you and your family. thank you. more than 50,000 rail workers are taking part in the biggest strike on the network in britain for decades. the action is part of a long—running dispute about pay, jobs and conditions. the red lines on this map are the only parts of the rail network where some trains will run, starting late and finishing very early. no trains are running between london and major cities, including edinburgh, brighton and newcastle. here's our transport correspondent, katy austin. another day, another train strike. this one is the biggest yet. thousands of train drivers are

walking out on the same day as other rail workers. that means even fewer trains running than previous strikes. this map shows where some trains will operate but large parts of the country will have none at all. among those affected by many runners heading to london ahead of tomorrow's marathon. rob from stockport took time off work to travel on friday instead. the extra night in a hotel has cost him more than £150. there's a lot going on as the team's trying to be ready to be ready for the marathon and making sure that everything is in place, so that at a time when you really want to be collecting yourself ready for that big event, the last thing you need is a load of externally generated stress to deal with. the train drivers' union says pay must go up to help with the cost—of—living crisis. its leader apologised for the disruption and said talks will continue. we're not very close at all but, again, every time we meet there's an opportunity for something else to come to the table, and we will always go there optimistic and hope that something will be driven forward. the other big rail union, rmt, says its dispute is over pay,

job security and working conditions. network rail, which looks after the tracks and signalling, plans to press ahead with changes to maintenance teams, whether or not the rmt agrees, and it still thinks staff should get a vote on its latest pay offer. absolutely, the rmt should be putting that offer, a package, to our staff because we think it's a decent package in the circumstances. the rail industry insists reforms must be agreed to afford pay rises because the pandemic created a financial gap. for now, further walk—outs are planned for wednesday and saturday. and unions have made it clear that unless there is a breakthrough in negotiations, strikes will continue. katy austin, bbc news. the cost of gas and electricity for uk households has increased today, but the rise has been restricted by the government's energy price guarantee. the average annual bill has risen from just under £2,000 pounds to £2,500.

even after the government's intervention, prices are twice as high as last winter, and charities say many people will struggle to pay the bills. our business correspondent theo leggett reports. maxine flewitt is deeply worried. her husband, ron, has a serious lung condition and she needs to keep him warm but she's struggling to pay for heating. we stay in bed longer in the morning so that we don't get up to have to need the heat. and this is already because it's got cold already this week, and we're like, what in the depths of winter, how are we going... how am i going to keep him healthy enough to live and be alive at the end of this winter? and that's no exaggeration, that's how i feel. the couple are among some 25 million households who will be paying more for their energy from today. the government's message is that it could've been a lot worse. with international energy prices soaring it's limited the amount of consumers can be charged.

the new cap isn't for your whole bill, it's on the price your supplier can charge you for every unit of energy you use. so if you buy gas and electricity, and pay by direct debit, it will be 34p per kilowatt hour for electricity. and 10.3p per kilowatt hour for gas. and then, daily standing charges are added on top. all this means even with the cap, if you use more, you will pay more. every household will soon get an extra discount of £400 on their bills, and the poorest are able to benefit from the government's existing package of cost—of—living payments. under pressure over her economic policy, the prime minister has pointed to the price cap as a key part of the government's support for struggling families. it was very, very important that we took urgent steps to deal with the cost that families are facing this winter, putting in place the energy price guarantee, for which we've had to borrow to cover the costs of that, but also making sure that we are not

raising taxes at a time when there are global economic forces, caused by the war in ukraine, that we need to deal with. but critics point out that average bills will still be roughly twice the amount they were last winter. these people came looking for energy saving tips from the bbc�*s money box roadshow in llandudno. make sure all the lights are off when it's not necessary. and the gas, you know, you check the thermostat on the wall, you check the thermostat on the radiators as well. the children, they're obviously used to go into shops and asking for things. at a time when things have doubled in price, you're trying to get them educated on the fact that we can't afford things like we did. it's quite difficult. that's true, yeah. the price cap will soften the impact high energy costs but it still threatens to be a difficult winter for many. theo leggett, bbc news. joining me now is the energy export and editor of forbes advisors, kevin pratt.

thank you forjoining us. first of all, it is worth reiterating what this price cap means, because of course it does not mean that people's bills will necessarily be limited to £2500, does it? know, that is a really — limited to £2500, does it? know, that is a really important - limited to £2500, does it? know, that is a really important point. . that is a really important point. the figure of £2500 has been thrown around quite a lot this week, but thatis around quite a lot this week, but that is the amount you will pay if you consume the average amount of energy over the course of a year. of course, a lot of people don't. the cap is on the price charged per unit of electricity, per unit of gas, and the standing charge, as well. and that means if you use more, you pay more. if you use less, you pay less. but the average is around the £2500 per year point. just but the average is around the £2500 per year point-— per year point. just remind us, how lona is per year point. just remind us, how long is this — per year point. just remind us, how long is this can _ per year point. just remind us, how long is this cap in _ per year point. just remind us, how long is this cap in place _ per year point. just remind us, how long is this cap in place for- per year point. just remind us, how long is this cap in place for and i long is this cap in place for and what other sources of government help are there? the what other sources of government help are there?—

what other sources of government help are there? the cap is in place for two years _ help are there? the cap is in place for two years from _ help are there? the cap is in place for two years from today. - help are there? the cap is in place for two years from today. in i help are there? the cap is in place for two years from today. in the i for two years from today. in the first year, 2022—23, there will be a £400 discount applied to everybody�*s electricity bills will stop that will come off their electricity bills over the next six months. £66 for a couple of months, then £67 will come off each month. it is really important to stress that will happen automatically. you do not have to apply for it. i am making that point because it has lots of scams going around at the moment where people try to get people to give their details, financial details, personal details in order to get that discount. do not acknowledge those scams, do not respond to them in any way. your energy supplier will take care of that automatically, passed at £400 discount on to you. it is being applied to electricity accounts because not everybody is on the gas grid, so that is why it is coming off electricity bills. for those who are on the gas grid, who use an

alternative fuel for heating, they will be given £100 by the government. the mechanism for getting that to them has not been worked out yet, but £100 per household provision for people on alternative sources of heating power. i alternative sources of heating ower. . . alternative sources of heating ower. ., ., , ., ., power. i am glad you mentioned the scam because _ power. i am glad you mentioned the scam because i _ power. i am glad you mentioned the scam because i got _ power. i am glad you mentioned the scam because i got one _ power. i am glad you mentioned the scam because i got one of— power. i am glad you mentioned the scam because i got one of those i scam because i got one of those texts. i'm sure lots of people dead. click here to get £400. as you say, it is important to emphasise that happens automatically. ignore those texts. in terms of other ways that people can help meet their bills or help reduce those bills, what is the best advice out there?— help reduce those bills, what is the best advice out there? anywhere you can save energy _ best advice out there? anywhere you can save energy will— best advice out there? anywhere you can save energy will make _ best advice out there? anywhere you can save energy will make a - can save energy will make a difference. energy is now so expensive. it makes a difference if you can find ways to reduce energy consumption in your home. that goes from small daily behaviours such as making sure nothing is left on standby, only boiling the water that

you need if you're going to make a drink in the kettle, do not fill the kettle, just get the amount in that you require. put lights on saucepans, make sure there is nothing blocking radiator so that you do not have to have the heating as high or you might be able to turn it off on a pleasant day. just take small steps to keep drafts out of the house if you can. your letterbox, your windows, keyholes... thinking bigger than that, think about insulation, loft insulation if you have a loft, can you improve the glazing on your windows. it costs a lot of money, i know, but you can get kits on the internet which allow you to put plastic over your windows. that can make a big difference to the cold coming in and the heat retention of your property. anything you can do. and in the long run, it can make a difference to your bill. run, it can make a difference to our bill. . ~ run, it can make a difference to our bill. ., ,, , ., run, it can make a difference to our bill. . ~' ,, run, it can make a difference to our bill. ., ,, i. . ., your bill. thank you so much for runnina your bill. thank you so much for running through _ your bill. thank you so much for running through all— your bill. thank you so much for running through all that. - your bill. thank you so much for running through all that. that i your bill. thank you so much for running through all that. that isj

running through all that. that is kevin pratt from forbes. the headlines on bbc news: the ukrainian military now says it has encircled russian forces in the strategic eastern town of lyman, in the donetsk region, which was annexed by russia yesterday. large parts of britain's train network grind to a complete halt as 50,000 workers stage a walkout in the biggest rail strike so far over pay and conditions. millions of people in the uk begin paying more for gas and electricity as the new energy price cap comes into force. liz truss has admitted that there has been "disruption" in the uk economy following the announcement of significant tax cuts in a mini—budget eight days ago. her comments came at the end of a tumultuous week which saw the pound slump to an all—time low against the us dollar and a bank of england intervention to prevent the collapse of the pensions industry. but how likely is she to change course?

0ur political correspondent jonathan blake has this update. well, there is no sense that the prime minister and the chancellor are going to change tack, as you say, they are digging their heels in and today are mounting something of a charm offensive to persuade the voters, investors, and not least people in their own party, their own mps, that their plan is the right one. i think with all this it's worth considering that the pushback and the criticism from within the conservative party is not necessarily about what liz truss and kwasi kwarteng did in the mini budget, unveiling that raft of sweeping tax cuts going further than many expected them to, but more about how they did it. there was no forecast from the office for budget responsibility, which would give an idea of what impact these moves would have on the growth of the economy. and as far as a lot of mps are concerned, ministers have not spent enough time expending why they are doing this,

—— spent enough time explaining why they are doing this, and the other changes that are coming from government in order to be able to transform the economy, allow it to grow, and for the government to be able to afford it, that they are not just going to keep borrowing money endlessly. and that's why this morning we heard liz truss, she has written in the sun newspaper, saying that she knows not all the measures that the government is putting in place will be popular, but they are necessary, and she said that it has caused some disruption, using somewhat understated language. we have had the chancellor writing in the telegraph too, saying he will come forward later in november and are set out a medium—term plan, new fiscal rules, they clearly commitment to discipline and bring depth down. —— commitment to discipline and bring debt down. and also the levelling up secretary in an interview with the times talking about signalling pretty clearly spending cuts at various government departments across whitehall, saying that the uk has got used to spending habits which outstripped our ability to pay for it, and that needs to change. so all those interventions aimed at reassuring people, and on the eve

of the conservative party conference in birmingham, trying to shore up support among conservative mps for liz truss's plan. the prime minister will be interviewed live on bbc one this weekend on sunday morning with laura kuenssberg. you can see that at the slightly earlier than usual time of 8.30am. hurricane ian has made landfall in the us state of south carolina as a category one storm, after pummelling florida. the historic coastal city of charleston has been lashed by winds and heavy rain. hundreds of kilometres of the south—eastern seaboard of the us are under severe weather alerts. this map shows the expected path of the storm on saturday. the bbc�*s nada tawfik is in south west florida and sent this report. the category one storm made landfall friday afternoon near georgetown, just north of the historical city

of charleston, with winds of 85 mph. its powerful storm surge downed power lines, plunging 400,000 people into darkness and left a some stranded. at pawley�*s island, local police captured the end of a pier collapsing before it floated away. 0fficials did not feel evacuations were necessary, but they have urged residents to avoid going out. if you don't need to go outside in the wind right now, stay inside. if you don't need to drive anywhere, don't drive. be careful and be smart. still, the damage was nowhere near as devastating as in florida, where the coastguard had to rescue people by helicopterfrom barrier islands cut off from the mainland. and beach destinations along the south—west coast, such as fort myers, were battered and forever transformed. clearly, there is still a lot of clean—up ahead, and besides the personal loss from this storm, businesses are now going

to be suffering, too. right ahead of what should have been a busy tourist season here, the beaches, the marinas are devastated. the storm—weary lined up for hours to purchase petrol and water. they all said this was unlike any storm they had ever experienced. honestly, it's sad. hearing all the stories about it, my friend's house — underwater. so, everyone i grew up with, everyone that i knew, their houses are all underneath water, and it's sad. after making landfall twice in the united states, ian is forecast to weaken rapidly. it will now move inland. let's get some of the day's other news. japan has criticised north korea for conducting more missile tests, which took place following a visit to the region by the us vice president kamala harris. the launches defy a ban imposed on north korea

by the un security council. tokyo says the missiles landed outside japan's exclusive economic zone, but there is concern pyongyang may be about to conduct a nuclear test in the coming weeks. ketanji brown jackson has made history by being sworn in as the first black woman to sit on the united states supreme court. as president biden's appointee, she joins two other liberals on the supreme court, which is dominated by six conservatives. the british singer phil collins and two of his bandmates from the rock group genesis have sold the rights to their music in a deal reportedly worth $300 million. that figure would make it one of the biggest such deals, behind only bob dylan and bruce springsteen. it's less than two months now until the football world cup kicks off in qatar. excitement is building for supporters all around the globe. a lucky few will travel to see the matches in person, while many more will be watching on television.

but some are showing their enthusiasm in a very particular way, as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. football fever on a somewhat smaller scale. before every major tournament, people start collecting sticker books. but this year, for some, it's not been that easy. in argentina, there is a major shortage of stickers. shops have sold out, albums are yet to be filled. however, some are luckier than others. translation: my dad said, "i hope we get messi". i he opened it, and we got messi. i went around the house, shouting, "i got messi! "i got messi!"

here in buenos aires, they are literally queueing around the block. desperate times call for desperate measures. translation: i arrived at 5:00 in the morning and discovered l they are selling stickers here in one of the few places you can find them right now, because they are not available anywhere. in mexico, santiago fills up his sticker book, but he has to glue it in. his father couldn't afford the real thing, so he had to improvise, printing off copies from the internet — although santiago doesn't seem to mind. translation: i had this light bulb moment. i i couldn't do anything else. i got home. i gave him the album. i said to him, "take this, son." he hugged me, he kissed me, and he said, "daddy dearest, "i love you. "i love you, i love you." the devotion, the obsession, is clear. just imagine how excited

they will be when some actual football gets under way. tim allman, bbc news. that is great parenting. you are watching bbc news. the tech billionaire elon musk has presented the latest prototype of a humanoid robot. 0ptimus, being developed by his tesla car company, appeared on stage at a silicon valley event, where it waved to the audience. mr musk said robots could eventually transform civilization and eliminate poverty. initially, though, 0ptimus will be tested with simple tasks on the tesla factory floor — and could be on sale to the public in a few years' time. beavers have been recognised as a protected species in england, making it illegal to deliberately capture, kill or disturb them. the animals are native to the uk, but were hunted to extinction around 400 years ago.

since 2015, beavers have been re—introduced at many sites across england, with the aim of helping to restore wetland habitats. let's return to today's rail strike in the uk, which is the largest to take place for decades. more than 50,000 workers are taking part and our our correspondent sanchia berg joins me now from london euston. around 90% of services affected, including many of those from where you are at london euston. that including many of those from where you are at london euston.— you are at london euston. that is riaht, no you are at london euston. that is right, no trains _ you are at london euston. that is right, no trains coming _ you are at london euston. that is right, no trains coming in - you are at london euston. that is right, no trains coming in or- you are at london euston. that is right, no trains coming in or out i you are at london euston. that is| right, no trains coming in or out of this station at the moment. it is very different from the last strike when there were some trains coming in and out. people had come to try their luck, if you like, to try to get home to places like liverpool and manchester. very different today, as you said, only 11% of trains are expected to run today. that will cause quite a lot of disruption. for example, for people trying to get your to take part in

the london marathon. there are expected to be about 50,000 runners, many more spectators, and also people who are trying to get from london up to birmingham for the conservative party conference which starts this weekend. there is likely to be a lot of disruption. the unions have apologised for it, but they say they are continuing with their strikes. they have met the new transport secretary, and those meetings were described as quite constructive by both sides but nothing has come of that yet. find constructive by both sides but nothing has come of that yet. and we are expecting — nothing has come of that yet. and we are expecting further— nothing has come of that yet. and we are expecting further strike _ nothing has come of that yet. and we are expecting further strike action i are expecting further strike action next weekend, as well, aren't we? yes, there are a series of strikes that are planned going forward. but as i say, there are more positive signs, certainly with this transport secretary, that at least they are meeting at the transport union leader spoke more constructively, more positively about that this morning than he did about the previous transport secretary grant

shapps. previous transport secretary grant sha s. . ~ previous transport secretary grant sha s. ., ~' ,, now it's time for a look at the weather with matt. hello. a lot more sunshine around today compared with yesterday, but always keep your eye out for some dark clouds approaching. there is going to be a few showers scattered around, have been already across northern and western areas. the bulk of the showers, though, across parts of central western scotland and northern ireland. lighter, fewer showers across england and wales. there will be some across southern and eastern areas of all countries. we could see something much, much drier with very little rain around. in the sunshine for the 1st of october feeling quite pleasant. in the breeze, though, quite a stiff westerly breeze, and when those showers come through it will feel that bit cooler. showers this evening across the northern half of the country, fading a little bit through the night. to the south, we see cloud increase, outbreaks of rain through the english channel, could get as far north as south wales for the morning. keeping temperatures up here, a fresher night elsewhere, and a few mist and fog patches to take us into sunday. most, though, will have a dry and bright day on sunday, just one or two showers. southern counties of wales, southern counties of england, the chance of some cloud, outbreaks of rain. how quickly that clears,

big question, and that will be crucial for the london marathon. how much rain you will see, well, should be there in the morning. hello, this is bbc news — i'm luxmy gopal, and these are the headlines: the ukrainian military now says it has encircled russian forces in the strategic eastern town of lyman, in the donetsk region, which was annexed by russia yesterday.

large parts of britain's train network grind to a complete halt —