welcome to bbc news — i'm gareth barlow. our top stories: a former policeman in thailand kills at least 38 people at a nursery school. most of them children. such a cruel and desperate act? president biden pardons all americans convicted of marijuana possession under federal laws and urges state governors to follow his lead. the us imposes more sanctions on iran after the death of a young woman. and miracle baby.

find out how this baby's life was transformed while he was still in the womb. the thai government says the entire nation is in grief after a former police officer killed at least 38 people in a gun and knife attack at a nursery. he then killed himself and his family following the massacre in nong bua lamphu province in the north—east of the country. most of the victims were children. thailand's king is expected to visit the town of utthai sawan. our south—east asia correspondent jonathan head is at the scene. and a warning, his report contains some very distressing images. people crying, wailing this is a community now consumed by grief and shock, that children so young had been deliberately killed

by a fellow parent. the children were taking a midday nap inside the nursery when the attacker turned up to collect his son, who wasn't there, and then opened fire. translation: it all. went down really fast. he was slashing the knife. he didn't use the gun. he kept slashing in there, it's all by knife. translation: he was in the middle of reloading the gun. | i held my hands up and begged for mercy. i didn't know what to do. this survivors were taken to the nearest hospital, but there weren't many. the authorities say the attacker was a former police officer who'd been arrested and was being tried on drug charges. they removed the last of the victims from this day care centre a few hours ago, and there's little left now to indicate the horrific events that took place here. but there is a stunned disbelief, notjust in this village but across thailand, that, however troubled his life

may have been, this former police officer could have carried out such a cruel and desperate act. a few distraught family members stayed close by, hoping for answers but there were none. nanticha panchum is lucky to have survived. she is a teacher at the centre. she described hearing the first shots as she was preparing lunch. she recognised the gunmen as a parent, she said. "but we never thought he would attack the children." this country is accustomed to gun crime, but nothing on this scale involving so many children. over the next 2a hours, we expect the families of those who died in this centre to come back here and start trying to process it, ask questions. we're also expecting a visit by thailand's king. that's a rarity but it gives you a sense ofjust what an impact this has had on the country. i think they will be combing through the life of this man

who carried out this extraordinary and shocking crime to see whether they can find an explanation for what he did. there will of course be some talk about access to guns, but he had only one gun that he had legally, and it looks like mostly here he used the knife. i don't think there are explanation people can find. he was clearly a very troubled man but, beyind that, this is something almost inexplicable, and i think it's going to leave a lot of scars on this community. jonathon head reporting from north—eastern thailand. us presidentjoe biden is pardoning all priorfederal offences of marijuana possession and is ordering a review of its legal status. he said thousands of people have denied employment housing or education because of past offences. he also urged state governors to follow his lead. there is peter bowes on the impact.

this will affect about 6,500 people, people who have a conviction for simple possession of marijuana, as it relates to the federal laws, very distinct from local laws, from state convictions, which is quite separate and may well be addressed in the future. and the president saying he is doing this because, to use his words, the current situation has upended too many lives, and what he is referring to are the difficulties faced by people with these convictions in getting on with their lives, in getting a job, in getting access to housing or education, how it affects them and their close families. and that is what he wants to bring an end to, and of course the wider implications as well. some people see this as the beginning of the end, in terms of the criminalisation of the use of marijuana. this is going to be — at least not yet — this is going to be a political hot potato because while there are many states, some 19 states across the country, where the use is legal,

even more states use it for medicinal states, there are states where the use of marijuana is illegal, and for political and for personal reasons, there will be some opposition to the relaxing of laws, as they relate to marijuana, but while saying that, there is a majority of people, at least according to opinion polls, that believe the laws should be relaxed. us media are reporting that the fbi has gathered enough evidence to charge hunter biden, the president's son, with tax and gun related crimes. he has previously denied any financial wrongdoing, and has acknowledged using crack cocaine. the us attorney in delaware, appointed by former president donald trump, will decide whether to indict him. katie cherkasky is a former us federal prosecutor.

we speak to a former federal prosecutor now. thank you for joining us. from a layman's perspective it strikes as a significant case if this is the case live as a former prosecutor, has significant is this? it prosecutor, has significant is this? , , prosecutor, has significant is this? ,, ,, this? it is significant because it was hunter _ this? it is significant because it was hunter biden. - this? it is significant because it was hunter biden. if- this? it is significant because it was hunter biden. if it - this? it is significant because it was hunter biden. if it was j it was hunter biden. if it was a non— presidential air it would be a routine tax case meaning the allegation seems to be that hunter biden did not pay his full amount of taxes. he has since paid those taxes and normally these cases are settled civilly without criminal charges being brought. in this case we will see whether that happens. one charge is another one. when you apply for a gun in the united states have to answer a questionnaire and one of them is are you addicted to drugs or

commonly using drugs. he said no to that form but in a book that he wrote a year or so ago he said that during his time he was using drugs so it may be that there is a crime of false statement, meaning that at the time he sought the gun he was actually using drugs and there for that was a lie on that form. you have to think that this is a case that really would not have had any investigation but for the fact it was hunter biden. 50 investigation but for the fact it was hunter biden. so what does this _ it was hunter biden. so what does this then _ it was hunter biden. so what does this then mean - it was hunter biden. so what does this then mean for - it was hunter biden. so what does this then mean for the l does this then mean for the president?— president? there are many republicans _ president? there are many republicans who _ president? there are many republicans who have - president? there are many| republicans who have been president? there are many - republicans who have been lying in wait for hunter biden and if they take control of the house in the mid—term elections they are going to investigate hunter biden from the beginning to the end of their term in office. they think he is the embodiment of evil and that he is the achilles heel of president biden. and so it means a lot of political dealings that the

president will have to deal with the republican congress if they win. with the republican congress if the win. ., , they win. former president donald trump _ they win. former president donald trump has - they win. former president donald trump has decried l they win. former president i donald trump has decried any investigations into him or his family as a witch hunt, a democrat led witch—hunt. we now see the son of a democrat president being investigated. what does that tell us about the fbi and the department of justice? the fbi and the department of justice? ~ ., the fbi and the department of justice? ~ . , , , justice? what it tells us is that the fbi _ justice? what it tells us is that the fbi is _ justice? what it tells us is| that the fbi is theoretically non—partisan, that is they will investigate presidents and children of presidents whether they are republicans or democrats. what is most interesting here is that president biden has said the justice department will do what the justice department justice department will do what thejustice department does and i will not interfere, i will not talk about the case. i have the former us attorney, the trump appointed still hanging onto thatjob trump appointed still hanging onto that job with trump appointed still hanging onto thatjob with my permission so that he can investigate this with no allegation that i have put in one of my cronies to investigate. so the former

president and the current president and the current president approaching this very differently. to the creditor president biden he says that the facts speak for themselves and that an indictment is warranted, so be it. no witch—huntjustjustice warranted, so be it. no witch—hunt justjustice as warranted, so be it. no witch—huntjustjustice as it witch—hunt just justice as it should witch—huntjustjustice as it should be done. witch-hunt just justice as it should be done.— witch-hunt just justice as it should be done. ., ~ should be done. thank you. some aood should be done. thank you. some good news — should be done. thank you. some good news now— should be done. thank you. some good news now on _ should be done. thank you. some good news now on pioneering - good news now on pioneering surgery in america. baby robbie is one of the first humans to have undergone stem cell surgery to mend it have undergone stem cell surgery to itend it have undergone stem cell surgery to it isi it have undergone stem cell surgery to it is hoped it have undergone stem cell surgery to it is hoped the have undergone stem cell surgery to research ed the have undergone stem cell surgery to research could have undergone stem cell surgery to spina ch could have undergone stem cell sur spinal spina 315th mt 't t t " ' have undergone stem cell sur spinal spi and sidt tt’tt t t t " ' have undergone stem cell sur spinal spi and sail do tttt t t t t ' without lead without lead to ithout of lead to ithout including problems with mobility because earlier 7 earlier i 7 7 earlier i spoke earlier i spoke to damage. earlier i spoke to doctor dan farmer, a distinguished professor and chair of the department of surgery at uc davis house principal investigator of the trial. ,, ., ., trial. she told me about the

research- — trial. she told me about the research. ultimately - trial. she told me about the research. ultimately we - trial. she told me about the i research. ultimately we ended up research. ultimately we ended up discovering that placental derived stem cells seem to be the ticket. it worked our and animal work and we have received approval from recently received approval from the united states human —— food and drug administration, the fda, to apply these placental stem cells directly to the spinal cord when we do this diesel surgery. and we have now completed three of those fatal repairs with the stem cells and we are looking forward to finding out whether this will help these children. like you sa , help these children. like you say. three — help these children. like you say, three baby _ help these children. like you say, three baby so _ help these children. like you say, three baby so far, - help these children. like you say, three baby so far, baby| say, three baby so far, baby robbie isjust say, three baby so far, baby robbie is just one—year—old also. what are your hopes? i know it is early in the process but what do you hope to see for him? what is the outlook? this is a phase _ him? what is the outlook? this is a phase one _ him? what is the outlook? this is a phase one to _ him? what is the outlook? this is a phase one to a _ him? what is the outlook? ti 3 is a phase one to a trial. the first goal is to make sure it is safe. there has never been a

circumstance where placental derived stem cells have been put in the foetus in the spinal cord of a foetus. so the first thing is it safe? will it cause any problems, anything unexpected? we have passed that first hurdle in terms of the initial patients. ultimately of goal and our hope is that we will improve the ability to walk, the bowel and bladder function in our human patients as much as we saw improvement in our animal as much as we saw improvement in ouranimalwork as much as we saw improvement in our animal work that we have done leading up to this. x�*t�*aur done leading up to this. your work is remarkable _ done leading up to this. your work is remarkable but - done leading up to this. your work is remarkable but so . done leading up to this. your work is remarkable but so are you because you are the world's first female fatal surgeon. what does that mean to you as an individual? —— female foetal surgeon. i -- female foetal surgeon. i was there when _ -- female foetal surgeon. i was there when it _ -- female foetal surgeon. i was

there when it was _ -- female foetal surgeon. i was there when it was first - there when it was first invented, i was a trainee and it was fascinating to think that we could make lifelong changes, changes that by operating in utero we could make changes that would be, that would impact the full life of a child and it was just a really exciting opportunity. so i think i was lucky to be with an incredibly exciting intellectual mill you at the right time in the right place. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, just why are the rich and famous including prince harry and sir eltonjohn taking legal action against the british newspaper? we will find out a little later. 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 soldiers - jumped from a military truck taking part in the parade, and ran 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 news. the latest headlines: rescue workers in the ukrainian

city of zaporizhzhia are continuing their search for people buried in the rubble after russian missiles hit residential buildings on thursday. the city's ukrainian governess is the number of people killed in thursday morning's missile strikes on the city centre has risen to seven with at least five people still considered missing. local officials had seven russian missiles struck before dawn with a further three hitting mid—morning. the governor described the strikes is a real act of terrorism. they come as the ukrainian army continues to make dramatic progress against russian forces in the east and south of the country. after vladimir putin signed a decree unexim regions of ukraine, he ordered the russian government to take control of these are parisian nuclear power plant, the biggest in the region. ahead of the nuclear watchdog is in moscow to discuss safety at the plant and before he left for kyiv, rafael grossi have this morning about working conditions for the staff. fine

conditions for the staff. one thin i conditions for the staff. one thing i can _ conditions for the staff. one thing i can tell _ conditions for the staff. one thing i can tell you - conditions for the staff. one thing i can tell you and - conditions for the staff. one thing i can tell you and i - conditions for the staff. que: thing i can tell you and i have been saying it from day one, the staff at the plant is operating under almost unbearable circumstances. the stress, the uncertainty, not knowing what is going to happen. to be compounded with the fact that now, with this announced changes, there may be issues related to the management of the facility. so all of these things need to be clarified and i am expecting to be discussing this also when i come to moscow. the be discussing this also when i come to moscow.— be discussing this also when i come to moscow. the latest from washington _ come to moscow. the latest from washington is _ come to moscow. the latest from washington is that _ come to moscow. the latest from washington is that joe _ come to moscow. the latest from washington is that joe biden - washington is thatjoe biden has warned that the russian president vladimir putin's threat to use nuclear weapons presents the biggest such risks since the cuban missile crisis some 60 years ago. the guardian's world affair editor julian borja joins us. we are hearing some pretty dire warnings from president biden, some thinly veiled threats from

president putin. is this talk or is this reality. == president putin. is this talk or is this reality. -- borger. in a or is this reality. -- borger. in a way _ or is this reality. -- borger. in a way when _ or is this reality. -- borger. in a way when you - or is this reality. -- borger. in a way when you come - or is this reality. -- borger. in a way when you come to| in a way when you come to nuclear weapons, the talk is a reality in terms of it is representing the deterrent that the nuclear weapons are supposed to provide. definitely vladimir putin is relying heavily on that deterrent as his military situation in ukraine goes from bad to worse. the russian forces around —— are on the back foot and so he has stepped up this sort of repeated threat that he will use all of the forces at his disposal, implying, including nuclear, to safeguard russian territory, which he has recently expanded, of course, in his view, to include these four areas of ukraine. so the question is does he mean it or is he bluffing? that's the big

dilemma facing russia, facing washington and its allies now. we are seeing conflicting reports from washington as to what the us would do if — if — president putin was to use a nuclear weapon. president putin was to use a nuclearweapon. does president putin was to use a nuclear weapon. does that show a lack of consensus or a deliberate ambiguity on the part of the americans? bath deliberate ambiguity on the part of the americans? both in that what they _ part of the americans? both in that what they have said - that what they have said publicly, that there would be catastrophic consequences, is meant to be ambiguous. it's not meant to be ambiguous. it's not meant to be ambiguous. it's not meant to give too many clues about, to putin if you do this, we will do that, give him a roadmap, so the aim is to be ambiguous and at the same time, yes, there is disagreement about how they should be a response. it would very much depend on in what way and how big a nuclear weapon putin used. if you went forward like that. he could do an air burst above the black sea or he could use them on the battlefield.

every situation would be different. and the washington whole —— policymakers would try to leave themselves room for manoeuvre when it comes to choosing a response. they did a war game on this in 2016 and in one set of officials, the sort of deputy level, they decided not to respond with a nuclear weapon in similar circumstances. although when it went to the principles, the secretary of defence, secretary of energy and the secretary of state, they took another decision that they would respond with a nuclear weapon, dropping it, in this case, in the war game in belarus. so it shows that different decisions, different outcomes can come out off the one administration and so, you know, yes, they are being ambiguous and yes, they are not. sure —— they are not

sure until it happens. i know president biden is not sure until it happens how he and his administration will respond. julian borger, thank you. prince harry, baroness doreen lawrence, sir eltonjohn and elizabeth hurley are part of a group who've launched legal action against associated newspapers, publishers of the daily mail, the mail on sunday and the mailonline for alleged gross breaches of privacy. our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds, has the story. they are veterans of the fight against media intrusion. now, prince harry, sir eltonjohn and his partner david furnish, liz hurley and sadie frost have combined forces to take on the mail, along with — and this was a surprise — baroness doreen lawrence. she has had a warm relationship with the daily mail. two of her son stephen's killers were jailed in 2012. for more than a decade, the mail helped keep the case

associated newspapers journalists have been involved with. more serious allegations even than phone hacking, according to a lawyer who has been involved in legal action against associated newspapers. they are highly intrusive. they are means of delving into the private lives of people, and private lives which are protected by statute under the human rights act and by convention by the european convention of human rights. so, it is a gross invasion of privacy if these things occurred and it would be absolutely right and proper, if they did occur that associated newspapers — and, hopefully, some of their seniorfigures — are held to account. phone hacking was not practised by the mail on sunday or daily mail. that was the former editor in 2012.

today's statement from associated newspapers: . "baroness lawrence had been persuaded "to endorse lies," the company said. it's all heading for court and is likely to take yea rs to resolve. if the mail's owners are to lose, well, the stakes are enormous. tom symonds, bbc news. the united states has sanctioned government and security officials in iran following authority's crackdown on protests across the country after the death of a young woman, maha —— massa amini. protests have taken over the country. let's discuss with azadeh moshiri. we've seen previous levels of sanctions

imposed against iran at so however these different? every time there _ however these different? every time there are _ however these different? every time there are widespread - time there are widespread protests in iran, a common tactic by the islamic regime is to cause internet shutdowns as well as shutting down any modes of communication, particularly western messaging apps and the reason they do this is the iranians have difficulty communicating with each other as well as showing the world what's going on on the ground in iran. these sanctions are directly in response to that. that's why they are targeting people like the minister of communications, the interior minister as well as the revolutionary guard core. this is not the first action that the united states have taken. they have recently eased restrictions around tech companies's abilities to operate in iran, hoping they may be able to fix some of the intimate blackouts and help iranians continue to have access to the outside world. they also sanctioned the morality police, the very same police that detained mahsa

amini before she died in custody, so with the latest round of sanctions, the united states says it is continuing to target those who are violently suppressing peaceful protests. we are seeing some of those images of those protests there and we've seen them across iran before and certainly in 2019 huge protests. how are these different this time around? are they different?— they different? some recent imaaes they different? some recent images and _ they different? some recent images and videos - they different? some recent images and videos we - they different? some recent images and videos we have l they different? some recent - images and videos we have seen are of teenage schoolgirls yelling at a militant police officer who visited their school. they said get lost in person. and perhaps the teenager saying get lost is not an uncommon occurrence in the west ——in persian. around these girls have been taught to fear authority and follow the rules and so for them to show that level of courage is extraordinary and so it's extremely difficult to see them going back once they've crossed the threshold. of course several generations are joining in these protests. the fact

that these protests are also about the mandatory hijab is extremely significant because it is one of the most visible symbols of the islamic republic. it hits directly at the ideology of the islamic republic. it's one the public —— when the public started looking physically different after the revolution and so this is something that will make the government extremely nervous. is this a tipping point how this may turn out? hard to say because this regime has shown that it has no fear to suppress protests by good force but it certainly is one of the most big and existential threats the islamic republic as a whole has ever faced —— threats the islamic republic as a whole has everfaced —— brute force. a whole has ever faced -- brute force. �* ., a whole has ever faced -- brute force. �* . ~ ., ,, force. azadeh moshiri, thank ou so force. azadeh moshiri, thank you so much- _ in the northern hemisphere, it is now autumn. for millions of animals, this is a time to hibernate, sleeping through the winter months and waiting for spring. at the katmai national park and preserve in the us state of alaska, they take this time of year very seriously — especially when it comes to one animal in particular. the bbc�*s tim allman explains.

—— they have to be a week where the fattest bear will be voted for and eventually will win fattest bear. hello there. the unsettled theme is lasting through the end of the week but into the weekend, it looks like high pressure will build in to settle things down for many of us, though. more wet and windy weather will arrive across the north and the west of the country during sunday. friday, though, is another windy day with sunshine and blustery showers. could even see a spell of rain associated with this weather front, which will spread southwards across england and wales through the course of the day and some of this rain could be quite heavy and squally for a short time, maybe some rumbles of thunder with it as it continues to advance southwards. ahead of it, the odd shower but some sunny spells. quite breezy, quite warm here. behind it, cooler, fresher, with a mixture of sunny spells, scattered showers. some of them could be quite heavy, even across western scotland.

and it will be a windy day — these are mean wind speeds. gusts will be higher than that, particularly along that weather front and across northern and western scotland. so cool, mid teens in the north but warm in the south—east — 18 or 19 celsius. that squally line of heavy rain moves out of the south—east eventually during the evening. overnight, it's drier. southern and eastern areas, more showers. into the north and the west of scotland, not as many as the last few nights. and again, it'll feel quite chilly, but the winds will start to ease down, and that's because we've got this ridge of high pressure building in for saturday, so fewer isobars on the charts, lighter winds, still a few showers affecting the north and the west of scotland closer to the area of low pressure, which will be sitting across scandinavia and denmark. there'll be a lot of dry, settled, sunny weather on saturday. very pleasant indeed for england and wales — highs of 17 or 18 degrees. lots of sunshine here, a bit more cloud further north. temperatures here 13 to 15 celsius. doesn't last long in the north and the west through sunday.

the next area of wet and windy weather moves in here. but for much of central, southern and eastern england, we're still under the influence of that area of high pressure, so even part two of the weekend will be nice here with a lot of dry and sunny usable weather to get out and about. further north and west, it will be wetter and windier, some heavy rain at times here, so that'll impact the temperatures — around the low teens, i think, for most. that doesn't last long either because we you move into next week, monday and tuesday look fine for many of us, thanks to a ridge of high pressure, before more wet and windy weather moves in later in the week. so, we start next week off on a fine note for many. very pleasant in central and southern areas with a good deal of sunshine around, variable cloud, but make the most of it before it turns unsettled again. cheering and applause

the headlines. the thai government says the entire nation is in grief after a former police officer killed at least 38 people in a gun and knife attack at a nursery he then killed himself and his family following the massacre. most of the victims were children. president biden has pardoned all americans convicted of marijuana possession under federal laws. he has urged state governors to follow his lead. he posted a tweet thread on the subject. pardoning all federal offences

of simple marijuana possession. residential buildings have been hit by missiles in ukraine as russia strikes back after ukrainian military made rapid gains. at least seven people have been killed in the latest attack against civilians. now on bbc news, it is panorama. tonight on panorama... he's braking, and he's indicating left. ..we expose an environmental scandal. so clearly, we've tracked the logs all the way back to the pellet plant. how precious forests are used to make electricity in the uk. can you see what's going on there when you look through? the conveyor is feeding the logs through a chipper. we reveal how britain's supposedly green power station is harming the planet. you very publicly say that

you avoid damage or disturbance to high carbon forests. that's a lie. we don't take whole trees. you do.