this is bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: the worst drought in a0 years leaves hundreds of thousands of somalians facing extreme hunger and death. 300,000 people are living in famine conditions with another 2 million on the brink of famine. so it is hard to imagine a situation more desperate, more urgent, more compelling. ukrainian forces re—take yet more territory abandoned by russian troops. we have an extended report on the high price being paid. russian army uniforms and boots — all of this cast aside by russian troops.

what happened here wasn'tjust a defeat for president putin, it was a complete humiliation. twitter confirms that the world's richest man, elon musk, is going through with his bid to buy the company. australia announces plans to halt its extinction crisis and save more than one hundred endangered species. # when i was born a coalminer�*s daughter... and, musicians and fans pay tribute to the american country music star, loretta lynn — who's died at the age of ninety. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it is one of the most severe humanitarian crises anywhere in the world right now. somalia is in the grip

of the worst drought since the 1980's. hundreds of thousands of people, many trapped by conflict, are facing extreme hunger and death. a full—blown famine, where households have no food children suffer acute malnutrition and people die every day from starvation is likely within a matter of weeks. 0ur africa correspondent andrew harding reported on somalia's last famine in 2011 in which a quarter of a million people died. he sent this report from a city at the heart of the current crisis. baby cries. in a crowded hospital in baidoa, 2—year—old mohammed clings to life, week with hunger. "this is the worst drought we've ever been through," says his mother. "i worry for all my children." another child is brought in with swollen limbs, a sign of severe malnutrition.

two of his sisters have died in the past fortnight. and already, in this unfolding catastrophe, the hospital is struggling to cope. sometimes we lack supplies. you lack supplies? that must be incredibly frustrating. sure, sure. when it happens, it's actually terrifying because people are dying and we cannot support them. 0n the dusty plains around the city, more families arrive each hour and set up camp. bringing little with them but stories of dead cattle, dead crops and a rural way of life that a changing climate will no longer tolerate. officially, no famine has been declared yet here in somalia. but today, right now, 300,000 people are living in famine conditions with another 2 million on the brink of famine, so it is hard to imagine a situation more desperate, more urgent, more compelling.

there is help arriving here in baidoa and plans for much more support. but it is too slow. the things we do now, we needed to do three months ago. so in reality, we are behind. i think something catastrophic will happen in this area. by catastrophic, you mean famine spreading? famine spreading. but drought is not the only challenge. somalia is at war. a long fight against an islamist insurgency is limiting access to many vulnerable communities. fatima 0mar managed to escape from the conflict but her 10—year—old son died of hunger soon after reaching baidoa. he is buried here beside the family's makeshift camp. "i cannot grieve for my son. "there is no time," she says. "i need to find work and food "to keep my "other

children alive." listening to her is her 11—year—old son. the mention of his brother is too much for him. 0ne family among millions are now wrestling with drought, war and our climate emergency. andrew harding, bbc news, baidoa, somalia. next to the conflict in ukraine — the country's forces have retaken more territory from the russians in the south. the focus is near the city of kherson, in one of the regions unlawfully annexed by russia last week. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky says his troops are making rapid and powerful advances against russian forces and dozens of settlements had been recaptured from the russian military in the south and east. over the weekend, ukraine re—took the strategic eastern town of lyman, which the russians had been using as a logistics base. but both sides paid a heavy price for the fighting there. 0ur senior international correspondent 0rla guerin sent this report which includes

some distressing images. driving into lyman — now liberated soil. ukraine is clawing back territory. it has the momentum. but among the ruins, victory can look bleak. further in, the wreckage of war. and among the pines, there is death. along the roadside, evidence of the human cost of russia's defeat. the bodies of fallen soldiers, still lying where they fell. ukrainian volunteers keep watch over the dead, trying to help identify the remains. unknown soldiers in

vladimir putin's war. left behind when his forces retreated. once, they were someone�*s husband or someone�*s son. a few steps away, a soviet book for teenagers entitled "adventure library". and something else russian troops left behind. anti—tank mines — barely visible. what happened here wasn'tjust a defeat for president putin. it was a complete humiliation. last friday, he announced to the world that he was annexing territory, including lyman. back at the edge of town, ukrainian forces head for new battles. they know they need to move fast. soon, freezing winter weather could slow their advance. 0rla guerin, bbc news, lyman. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines: the world health organisation says it's stepping up its response to a deadly outbreak of cholera in haiti, where weeks of anti—government protests have contributed to a worsening health problem. the who says it's setting up

cholera treatment centres in tents, and making bulk orders of oral vaccines. donald trump has asked the us supreme court to intervene in his legal dispute over classified documents removed from his florida estate by fbi investigators in august. the former president wants the court to reverse an appeal court decision which blocked the appointment of an independent arbiter — or special master — to review the documents. billionaire elon musk says he is willing to buy twitter after all. after months of trying to back out of a $41; billion deal to acquire the social media platform, mr musk sent twitter a letter saying he would buy it at the agreed upon price. the arrangement could end a bitter legal dispute, and allow the two sides to avoid a messy public trial set to begin in a couple of weeks. following the announcement, in the last few hours, the world's richest man tweeted, "buying twitter is an accelerant to creating x, "the everything app".

the bbc�*s technology reporterjames clayton is in san francisco with the latest. elon musk has spent the last few months saying twitter has a way to many fake accounts than it acknowledges. it was pretty surprising when we learn to today that elon musk in fact doesn't want to buy twitter and for the price agreed. twitter have had their fingers for the price agreed. twitter have had theirfingers burnt for the price agreed. twitter have had their fingers burnt by elon musk before. you can see from the statement they have put out that they are nervous. they pretty much said that they are going to force elon musk to buy the company whether he likes it or not and if there was nothing particularly celebratory about the statement. elon musk said he wants to create an app called x. i have no idea what that means and perhaps only elon

musk knows. what this means for twitter is less moderation and that could mean more free speech but also more hate speech but also more hate speech and crucially, for the chief executive of twitter, he does not get on well with elon musk and if this goes through he will have to look for a new job. north korea's launch of a ballistic missile over japan on tuesday has elicited a robust response, as promised, from the us and south korea. both countries have fired missiles of their own off the japanese coast. seoul said four short range weapons were used to deter further provocations from pyongyang. washington and seoul also carried out a precision aerial bombing exercise to demonstrate their readiness to react to the threat from pyongyang with more than just words. north korea's missile was the fifth in the last few days. it travelled about 4,500 kilometres before falling into the pacific ocean. karl freedhoff, korea expert at the chicago council on global affairs said its believed to have been the longest distance ever travelled for a north korean test flight.

i think there are three key points and at the first this is not new. north korea has done with his previously in 2017. the second point is that north korea is going to continue to test and it is not over. it seems nearly certain that this is going to and in a nuclear test perhaps in the end of october or november. the third point is this is not stoppable. no matter what the us, south korea orjapan do, there is little they can do to stop north korea continuing to test new weapons and technology. [30 new weapons and technology. do ou new weapons and technology. do you think the exercises recently carried out to serve as a provocation or make no difference?— difference? north korea will sa the

difference? north korea will say they see _ difference? north korea will say they see it _ difference? north korea will say they see it as _ difference? north korea will say they see it as a - say they see it as a provocation but the reality is north korea went to test these regardless. this has been the busiest testing year on record for north korea. it may be in direct response to what the us, south korea and japan were doing with the antisubmarine exercises but the reality is north korea does not need a reason to test and at least not one provided by the us and it is most likely testing new systems and new weapons. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: tributes from around the world for the american country music star, loretta lynn — who's died at the age of 90. this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything's going to be different from now on, they think their country will be respected in the world once more, as it used to be, before slobodan milosevic

took power. the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet, has won this year's nobel peace prize. as the parade _ was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded and a group of soldiersjumped from a military truck _ taking part in the parade and run towards the president, firing from — kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeletal ribs of henry viii�*s tragic warship emerged. but even as divers worked to buoy her up, the mary rose went through another heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people's governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california. cheering and applause this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: ukrainian authorities say

fighting is continuing in a number of areas in the east as the country's forces re—take more territory from the russians in the south. both sides have suffered heavy losses. twitter has confirmed the world's richest man, elon musk, is going through with his bid to buy the company. australia has announced plans to halt its extinction crisis and save more than 100 species. they include iconic species like the koala. it's the first time a federal government has announced a zero extinctions target for australia's plants and animals. the 10—year plan also aims to protect an additional 50 million hectares of land and sea area by 2027. let's hear from australia's environment minister, tanya plibersek. the threatened species action plan is an ambitious and a specific plan to stop further

extensions in australia. —to stop further extinctions in australia. we learnt from the state of the environment report which i released some months ago that the state of the australian environment is bad and getting worse. we are the mammal extinction capital of the world. we've seen around 100 species lost in the time since colonisation and we absolutely have to turn that around. if we keep doing what we are doing, we will keep getting the same results. conservationists have been critical that australia identified only 110 species when almost 2,000 are listed as threatened under national laws. this state of the environment report, published in july, found that australia has lost more species to extinction than any other continent. james trevice, at the invasive species council welcomed the news. it is very welcome. it is a really strong statement to say

that a federal government and national government will draw a line in the sand when it comes to a loss of native wildlife and ecosystems and say no more extinctions. that is a bold move. as you've outlined, the proof will be in the pudding. and what the policies, reforms and funding that follow this goal, and how they deliver, on zero extinction, is what will be the key test. they seem to have marked out this number, about 100, 110 different species. what is your feeling about that in terms of its ambition, i suppose? it is a start. we have almost 2000 nationally threatened species and ecosystems in australia. we lead the world when it comes to mammal extinctions and fourth overall when it comes to the extinction of all types of animals. so we have some really horrific global titles,

and making a start towards investing the resources and co—ordinated recovery actions and threat abatement actions, and that is a really key thing, tackling the key threats, because they are well understood in australia, and that is a start. there are 1900 other species that sit on the brink and we need to make sure we are tackling those as well. the state of the environment report, which this has been drawn off talked about a shocking decline in the plant and animal life within australia. can you give us an idea as to what is the main cause of this, though. is it about mining and big industry destroying parts of the landscape? is it about climate change? is it about these invasive species which is actually in your title of nonindigenous animals that are basically carving up the rest? to be frank, it is

all of the above. there are four major drivers — invasive species, habitat destruction, climate damage, pollution and fire. when we talk about invasive species, which is, which is my perspective on this issue, australia loses 1.5 billion native animals every year, just to the impacts of feral cats. cats were introduced to australia when it was colonised and our native wildlife here have not evolved the techniques to avoid the predation impacts of cats. cats have been responsible for the majority of australia's mammal extinctions and tackling the feral cat issue in australia is a really top priority. huge numbers. briefly, regulating this and making it happen, i mean, how do you do that?

the federal government has also committed to responding to a landmark review of our national environment laws, which are well out of date, 22 years old now. they are in dire need of updating. we will see that play out next year. the challenge really now rests on the environment minister and the albanese government to deliver on its commitment to zero extinction, strengthening laws to make sure we have the co—ordinated zero extinction, and investing money to tackle some of the greatest threats. now, to a potential breakthrough in getting rid of plastic in the environment. researchers in spain have found that saliva from the larvae of wax worms can break down some of the toughest types of plastic. tom brada reports. plastic pollution is one of the great environmental crises of our time but could the humble worm potentially

provide a solution? this specific worm, you can see wriggling away, is the wax worm, and spanish researchers say they have discovered chemicals in the wax worms's drool that can break down polyethylene, one of the most widely used plastics in the world. now we found that worms can do that through their saliva and in the saliva there are two enzymes that can actually oxidise and degrade polyethylene. according to the scientists who carried out the research, just one hours' exposure to the saliva can break down the plastic as effectively as years of weathering, and that could be crucial. polyethylene is an extremely useful, but durable, material. first created in 1933, it is cheap to produce and doesn't interact with food. that means it can be particularly useful for things like food packaging but it can also be very hard to get rid of. the original concept of biodegradation in the environment, so throw the plastic

bag and it breaks down, i don't think it is feasible. it doesn't make much sense. in a controlled environment, a waste management facility, bigger, smaller, whatever it is, you can imagine, clearly, we have to collect the plastic and then we pour litres of a solution of the enzymes in there. wax worms currently have a tricky reputation. they are actually considered pests by beekeepers as they feed on beeswax, pollen and honey. but if they prove a useful weapon for tackling plastic problems we may have to rethink their reputation. tom brada, bbc news. tributes are pouring in for the multi—award winning american country music icon loretta lynn, who has died at the age of 90. wendy urquhart looks back at her life and career. # well, i was born a coal miner's daughter...#. every gutwrenching song loretta lynn ever wrote was based on something that happened in her own life or to someone she knew.

the second of eight children, she was born in a 1—room cabin in kentucky in 1932. her family were dirt poor and her dad worked in the fields by day and the coal mines by night just to make ends meet. music was their saviour, with her mum on guitar, her dad playing the banjo and loretta singing her heart out at every opportunity. when she was just 15 years old, she married 0liver lynn and they stayed together until he died nearly 50 years later, despite his relentless drinking and womanising. # and don't come home a—drinkin�*...#. don't come home a—drinkin�* went to number one in 1966 and was followed by a raft of hit songs that were inspired by cheating husbands, divorce and alcoholism. coal miner's daughter, which told the story of her life, was turned into an 0scar—winning film starring sissy spacek. loretta lynn told her stories from a woman's point of view and that went down

a storm with her fans. she recorded 60 albums, which included duets with the top country music stars. # you've been makin�* your brags around town # that you've been lovin�* my man # but the man i love, when he picks up trash, # he puts it in a garbage can...#. her lyrics were legendary, so it's little wonder she topped the charts 16 times and was nominated for18 grammys, taking home three gongs. earlier charlie mattos, a presenter at wsm radio and an announcer at the famous grand ole 0pry told me why loretta had so much appeal to country music lovers. i think it was that honesty in the lyrics that connected her with so many generations of country music fans. from coal miner's daughter, which you mentioned, to don't come home a drinkin�* there was a feistiness

an honesty in her, in her lyrics and singing thatjust made her so relatable to so many people. there were a couple of things that struck me, charlie. one was how she made her mark. she was unrelenting in the early days, wasn't she? pushing herself forward, along with her husband but as a duo, they were determined to make it? yeah, and i think when you are in the process of being a trailblazer, you don't really realise that you are being a trailblazer and you do what you do to survive. the best compliment you could give to her is the series of great singer—songwriters who would use her as inspiration to this day. there are so many young artists who will quote loretta or use her as inspiration so the legacy continues.

but, yeah, it was not easy back in the day and she paved the path for an awful lot of people. she was married quite young. a very tempestuous marriage as well from what i've been reading! perhaps that was part of the success, for the best part of 50 years she had so much, dare i say, raw material to draw on! the beauty of loretta was she was unapologetically loretta. she didn't get her fame winning a game show, she was not auto—tuned or vocally corrected in the studio. she was exactly who she appeared to be and i think that is what people loved. there is something about someone being honest and putting themselves out there. she maybe was not everybody�*s cup of tea but those who loved her, truly loved her for who she was and there is an honesty there that i think, to this day, is very much appreciated.

loretta lynn, who's died at her ranch in tennessee at the age of ninety. hello. wednesday gets off to a windy start, a wet start in northern and western areas. got an area of low pressure which is spinning up across the uk and will quickly move on towards scandinavia, there'll be a trailing weather front from it though that'll rain southwards which will begin wednesday dry and following on behind, it'll be sunshine and blustery showers. this is how things look at 6:00 in the morning. bit of a wet night in northern ireland and across much of scotland, heavier rain for wales and north—west england. look how mild it is, though, through wales and england in particular as the day begins. quite quickly the rain out of northern ireland, it'll be out of much of scotland by end of morning, brighter skies following on behind with scattered showers, some heavy and maybe thundery, moving through quickly on gusty winds. wales and northern and western england turning drier into the afternoon, sunny

spells, chance of a shower, and through the afternoon, spell a brief spell of rain moving through east anglia and the south—east after what is a dry start to the day here, maybe a few sunny spells. it is a windy day, these are some wind gusts, there'll be stronger ones through irish sea coasts, particularly north wales and north—west england, very windy to begin the day and temperatures actually come down a bit once the rain has moved on through so it will feel cooler and particularly fresher into the afternoon. of course, that's helped by that gusty wind. we continue with some showers moving in overnight, wednesday into thursday, particularly towards the north—west of the uk mayjust merge to give a longer spell of rain moving in here. it will become mainly dry the further south you are through wales and england, lower temperatures, so a cooler start to the day on thursday. high pressure to the south keeping many southern areas essentially dry on thursday. whereas another set of weather fronts are coming close to northern ireland and scotland so here, there'll be a few showers around to begin the day but the idea will be that it'll tend to cloud over and we will see some outbreaks of rain coming

into northern ireland and push in parts of scotland. by the end of the day, some of this could be quite heavy in places, notice further south, though, it is mainly dry and a quite bit of sunshine around here. more heavy rain in parts of northern ireland and scotland, overnight and into friday, then pushing through wales and england on friday, very slowly, mind you. behind it, so further north you are, you're back into the sunnier skies, brisk winds still, there'll be showers around, some of them could be heavy, maybe with a rumble of thunder. an area of high pressure nosing in across the uk to give many places a dry start to the weekend before we see further outbreaks of rain, mainly to the north and west as we go on through sunday.

this is bbc news. i'm david eades. the headlines: president volodymyr zelensky says ukrainian troops are making rapid and powerful advances against russian forces. in his nightly video address, he asserted that, in the past week alone, dozens of settlements had been recaptured in the south and east. he also acknowledged that both sides had suffered losses. twitter has confirmed that the world's richest man, elon musk, is going through with his bid to buy the company. mr musk had previously tried to back out of the deal, citing an unexpectedly high number of fake accounts. twitter shares were suspended following news of the reactivated proposal. musicians and fans have been paying tribute