tonight at 10: ukraine's president zelensky urges the world to act swiftly to stop the nuclear threat from russia. as his forces continue to regain [and taken by the russians, he says president putin is not ready to use nuclear weapons, but his rhetoric is dangerous. they begin to prepare their society. that is very dangerous. they are not ready to do it, to use it, but they begin to communicate. we'll bring you more on the bbc�*s interview with the president in kyiv. also on the programme... overwhelmed by grief —

parents and relatives mourn their children murdered in thailand by a former police officer. the conservative mp conor burns has been sacked from the government following what it said it is a complaint of serious misconduct. european champions take on the world champions as england play the united states in night's and the bbc announces which city will host the eurovision song contest next year. liverpool... congratulations! and coming up on the bbc news channel: england cruised past fiji in theirfinal warm up game, ahead of next week's rugby league world cup. good evening. president zelensky says the world must act now to stop russia's nuclear threat.

speaking today to the bbc, ukraine's leader warns that russian officials have begun to "prepare their society" for the possible use of nuclear weapons, although he said he does not believe the country is ready to use them. it comes as ukraine's army has been making big gains, recapturing large swathes of territory from russia in a major counter offensive. mr zelensky was speaking in kyiv to our world affairs editor, john simpson. at the moment, there is no doubt who is winning. the ukrainians are taking back more territory every day. hello. still, when i met president zelensky, ifound he was still, when i met president zelensky, i found he was careful not to throw too much about ukraine's victories over the russians. translation:— victories over the russians. translation: , ., , , ., translation: they are putting up a aood translation: they are putting up a good enough — translation: they are putting up a good enough point — translation: they are putting up a good enough point but _ translation: they are putting up a good enough point but we _ translation: they are putting up a good enough point but we have - translation: they are putting up a i good enough point but we have enough strength and materials to go

forward. the main thing may be as motivation. i think that they don't have motivation.— have motivation. yesterday the, president zelensky _ have motivation. yesterday the, president zelensky alarmed - have motivation. yesterday the, president zelensky alarmed a i have motivation. yesterday the, | president zelensky alarmed a lot have motivation. yesterday the, i president zelensky alarmed a lot of people by seeming to say he wanted a pre—emptive strike to stop russia using battlefield nuclear weapons. today, he was keen to say he'd just been talking about pre—emptive sanctions against russia, but he says that russia is preparing people for the use of nuclear weapons. the? for the use of nuclear weapons. they be . in to for the use of nuclear weapons. they begin to prepare _ for the use of nuclear weapons. tie: begin to prepare their for the use of nuclear weapons. tie begin to prepare their society. for the use of nuclear weapons. tie1: begin to prepare their society. that is very dangerous. they are not ready to do it, to use it, but they begin to communicate. you mean re are begin to communicate. you mean prepare society — begin to communicate. you mean prepare society for _ begin to communicate. you mean prepare society for using - begin to communicate. you mean prepare society for using a - begin to communicate. you mean | prepare society for using a nuclear weapon? prepare society for using a nuclear wea on? ., prepare society for using a nuclear weaon? ., ~ ., v prepare society for using a nuclear weaon? ., ~ ., �*, , ., �* weapon? you know, it's... they don't know. weapon? you know, it's... they don't know- they — weapon? you know, it's... they don't know- they will _ weapon? you know, it's... they don't know. they will use _ weapon? you know, it's... they don't know. they will use or _ weapon? you know, it's... they don't know. they will use or they _ weapon? you know, it's... they don't know. they will use or they will - weapon? you know, it's... they don't know. they will use or they will not . know. they will use or they will not use. i think that it's dangerous even to speak about it. i said, you have to do pre—emptive kicks, not attacks, we are not terrorists and

we don't fight on another territory. even our attitude from our society, to russians after this invasion, after all these eight years war, eight years blood tragedy, even after this, eight years blood tragedy, even afterthis, our eight years blood tragedy, even after this, our attitude to us, to them, we are not ready to kill people, like russians do it. do you think that president _ people, like russians do it. do you think that president putin - people, like russians do it. do you think that president putin is - think that president putin is capable of launching nuclear weapons and using them? translation: it i and using them? translation: ifi sa , and using them? translation: if i say, for example, they are and using them? translation: ttt say, for example, they are incapable of using nuclear weapons, then an inadequate person who has this power inadequate person who has this power in his hands will say, really? i can't? well, see, see how i can and then use it. if i say he can use it, it can cause panic moods in many countries, including ukraine. all

that putin is afraid of, it's not even a nuclear strike, he is afraid of his own society. he is afraid of his own people, because only these people can replace him, stripped him of his power and give it to another person. d0 of his power and give it to another erson. ,, ~ of his power and give it to another erson. ~ , , ., person. do you think they should stand u- person. do you think they should stand up against _ person. do you think they should stand up against him? _ person. do you think they should stand up against him? they - person. do you think they should - stand up against him? they shouldn't be afraid. stand up against him? they shouldn't be afraid- let — stand up against him? they shouldn't be afraid. let them _ stand up against him? they shouldn't be afraid. let them not _ be afraid. let them not fight against somebody for themselves. find against somebody for themselves. and he had a word for the russian soldiers who are sent here. translation:— soldiers who are sent here. translation: .,, ., , , soldiers who are sent here. translation: , ~ , translation: those mobilised kids now, well, translation: those mobilised kids now. well. they _ translation: those mobilised kids now, well, they come _ translation: those mobilised kids now, well, they come with _ translation: those mobilised kids now, well, they come with nothing, | now, well, they come with nothing, without guns or body armour. they are being thrown here like cannon fodder, not people. if are being thrown here like cannon fodder, not people.— are being thrown here like cannon fodder, not people. if you do win, we'll the ladder _ fodder, not people. if you do win, we'll the ladder may _ fodder, not people. if you do win, we'll the ladder may putin - fodder, not people. if you do win, l we'll the ladder may putin survive? —— will vladimir putin survive? i don't care. -- will vladimir putin survive? i don't care-— -- will vladimir putin survive? i don't care. you don't care if he is still in power? _ don't care. you don't care if he is still in power? not _ don't care. you don't care if he is still in power? not in _ don't care. you don't care if he is still in power? not in the - still in power? not in the slightest- _

still in power? not in the slightest. mr _ still in power? not in the slightest. mr zelensky i still in power? not in the l slightest. mr zelensky has still in power? not in the _ slightest. mr zelensky has developed into an impressive _ slightest. mr zelensky has developed into an impressive war— slightest. mr zelensky has developed into an impressive war leader - slightest. mr zelensky has developed into an impressive war leader but - slightest. mr zelensky has developed into an impressive war leader but he | into an impressive war leader but he knows the war is now entering its most dangerous phase. john simpson, bbc news, kyiv. in moscow, president putin has been celebrating his 70th birthday. with rallies of support and praise from the head of the orthodox church, but there is no ode open criticism of the russian wore and ukraine television and this year's nobel peace prize has been awarded to human rights fighters from russia, belarus and ukraine. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports from moscow. 70 today, vladimir putin was hosting regional leaders — a little summit in a large palace. his guests, of course, had brought him gifts, including, bizarrely, a mountain of melons. out on the streets, a highly choreographed happy birthday. "putin's my president", they spell out.

but apart from a little organised adoration, no widespread celebration. perhaps this is why. pro—kremlin commentators are now admitting that russia's doing badly in ukraine. "it's not going our way", the presenter says. "we must stop lying", says this mp and retired general. "certain leaders need to understand that." no present here for putin. in oslo, the nobel peace prize went to defenders of democracy and civil society. russian rights group, memorial, belarus activist ales bialiatski, and ukraine's center for civil liberties. they have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse of power. for more than 30 years,

memorial has been cataloguing the victims ofjoseph stalin's terror and rights abuses in modern russia. the authorities have shut it down but it's still trying to operate. translation: will the prize lead to less pressure on us _ from the authorities? no, it will only increase. i'm sure that in the current climate, our authorities will say, "right, theirfifth column, and they also got a nobel prize. "we'll show you how we'll restore order in our country." a prestigious peace prize for a russian rights group will not impress russia's president. vladimir putin still seems determined to secure victory in ukraine and against the west. but at the very least, it's a show of solidarity to those inside this country who still believe it's possible to build here a civil society. don't expect the kremlin to help. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

russia's invasion of ukraine has plunged countries across europe into an energy crisis. europe is far more reliant than the uk on russian gas to produce both heating and electricity, and governments have been implementing strategies to reduce energy consumption. in italy, people are being urged to lower household thermostats by one degree and to use heating for an hour less each day. in france, a limit of 19 degrees celsius has been put on heating in public buildings. and a similar limit is being imposed in spain, which extends to shopping centres and other public spaces, such as airports. and shop windows must fall dark by 10pm. but here in the uk, the government has decided against imposing restrictions on public buildings — or launching an advice campaign on how to save energy — that's despite a prospective plan to do so being reasonably well—developed. let's speak to our political correspondent alex forysth, who's in westminster.

what is going on, alex? we know about the pressure _ what is going on, alex? we know about the pressure on _ what is going on, alex? we know about the pressure on energy - what is going on, alex? we know i about the pressure on energy supply and on prices and so within the department for business, they've been looking at a plan for a campaign to advise people on how to reduce their consumption. but downing street decided that shouldn't go ahead. ministers say they are pretty secure in our energy supply. they are confident, despite the fact there have been warnings about blackouts in the worst—case scenario, and there is a sense of not wanting to worry the most vulnerable so they don't turn on the heating when they need to. but there is an ideological element of this, too. liz truss has said she doesn't want to tell people what to do and so now we have the national grid, we have private energy companies looking at ways to incentivise people to use less energy, particularly at peak times, and yet from the government, advice. thank ou. alex from the government, advice. thank you- alex forsyth — from the government, advice. thank you. alex forsyth reporting. - scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has accused liz truss of showing arrogance and a lack of respect for not contacting her since becoming prime minister.

she said that previous prime ministers theresa may and borisjohnson had spoken to her within a day or two of taking office. the scottish national party leader was talking to our political editor, chris mason, ahead of the start of the snp conference in aberdeen tomorrow. setting the stage for the next party conference. the snp run scotland and are the third biggest party at westminster. but the first minister told me she's still not had liz truss on the phone — a month after she became prime minister. i don't know whether that is arrogance, lack of respect or insecurity — whatever it is, it's not the right way to do government in a grown—up way. hovering over this gathering is a ruling coming soon from the supreme court on whether the scottish government can legally hold an independence referendum. the weight of legal opinion suggests the answer will be no. nicola sturgeon wants another referendum next year. let's talk about priorities. a poll by survation in the last week

suggesting just 35% of people in scotland want a referendum in the next year. you've acknowledged we're in the middle of a cost of living crisis, there's war in europe. is it the right priority for you to be talking about a constitutional question right now? i was elected as first minister on a very clear manifesto commitment to have a referendum on the timescale that i'm talking about right now. many people will agree that you do have a compelling case for another referendum, given the election result of recent times, but do you have a fear of running out of road in your time as first minister to deliver it? if the legal road comes to nothing, you're then talking about turning the general election into a de facto referendum but it's a general election — it's not a referendum. well, i don't want it to be the general election, i want a referendum, and i'm trying to democratically constitutionally, legally bring that about... sure, but do you worry about running out of road to getting it? i don't, i think scotland's going to become independent, i have virtually no doubt in my mind about that. but it's about time frames, isn't it, and whether you can deliver it? whether it's me that delivers it or somebody else, clearly i would prefer

the former to the latter — but that's not the most important question. would scotland benefit more from a keir starmer government or a liz truss government? in effect, we have said we would want to work with labour in a progressive alliance. it's labour that turns its back on that. nicola sturgeon is embracing renewable energy and is criticising the government at westminster for issuing new oil and gas exploration licences here in the north sea. but she rejects nuclear power outright. what we've got to do is transition away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, but as justly as possible — to protect the jobs and the economic benefit. and on nuclear, could there ever be a case, could you ever be convinced about nuclear? right now, nuclear is a hugely expensive form of energy, at a time when, in scotland, you know, wind power is already cheaper than gas and nuclear... the wind doesn't always blow, though. well, look, so that means we have to continue to do what we're doing around, you know, energy storage solutions. this party has been in power in scotland for 15 years. critics point to the state of the nhs and schools

on their watch, and what they see as an obsession with independence. but the snp remain the overwhelmingly dominant force in scottish politics, moulding this nation now — and potentially the very future of the uk. chris mason, bbc news, in aberdeen. the trade minister, conor burns, has been sacked from the government after what downing street said was a "complaint of serious misconduct" against him. he has also been suspended from the conservative parliamentary party. the mp says he has not been given any information about the allegation and that he looks forward to clearing his name. zoe conway is in westminster. zoe, what more do we know? downing street is keen to show that they are acting quickly and decisively in dealing with this allegation of serious misconduct. that is why conor burns was immediately sacked from the

government and had the whip removed. we don't know the details but we understand that this complaint relates to his behaviour at the conservative party conference earlier this week in birmingham. he says he wants to cooperate fully with the investigation and he says that he hopes the party will carry out their inquiries quickly as what he calls their rush to judgment. number 10 is keen to avoid the criticism that was levelled at boris johnson when he was prime minister, that he took too long to deal with allegations of misconduct. zoe. allegations of misconduct. zoe, thank you- _ in thailand, distraught families have been mourning the deaths of 36 people, including more than 20 children, murdered by a former police officer in their nursery school yesterday. the country's prime minister has joined grieving parents placing flowers on the steps of the centre in the town of uthai sawan, where the attack took place. jonathan head has been there throughout the day, and sent this report.

how do you deal with a loss like this? in this temple, not far from the school where so many young lives were ended in the most brutal way imaginable... ..it was with heart—tearing howls of anguish. as mothers and grandmothers saw the undersized coffins — and, for the first time, the little bodies they contained. what we've been witnessing at this temple is grief on an immeasurable scale, as the full impact of the inexplicable horror visited on this community has hit home. it is grief that's being shared among friends and neighbours and by much of the country. but it is still grief as raw and as harrowing as it gets.

this couple rushed back here on news of the attack. jobs are scarce in this part of thailand, and they have to work far away. their three—year—old son, phubet, who lived with his grandmother, was one of the victims. this is a national tragedy for thailand, and the big names in thai politics came to pay their respects at the gate of the nursery building where, just 2a hours before, the former police officer had gone on his mindless killing spree. the prime minister then handed out giant cheques to the bereaved — a sign, he said, that the state would take care of those who had lost so much. probably a welcome gesture in a poor region which usually gets little attention from the central government.

but this community has been profoundly shaken by a terrible event which as yet cannot be explained. jonathan head, bbc news, north—eastern thailand. now, here, without a complete restructuring of the social care system, millions of people could be left without the support they need. that is the warning from care england, which represents independent social care providers. this week, bbc news is taking an in—depth look at the social care system. yesterday, we brought you the story ofjo, who lives with dementia, and the difficulties she and her husband bill have faced getting access to care. today, we're reporting on the other side — how those providing that care are coping with the challenges in the system. our correspondentjeremy cooke and producer claire kendall spent a week following the work of the staff at a care home in newcastle run by the charity dementia matters. this is what they found.

good morning, how are you doing? it's early morning on tyneside. ah, the bus is here for you. all aboard for the bradbury daycare centre. and the vital support it gives to all those who need it. has he been on the night shift again, has he? and to their hard—pressed families. how are you doing? very exhausted, that's the only way i can put it. morning, alex! kettle's on. it takes dedication to keep this small charity in business. there we gan! it looks like there was a pool of water in here... and so when there's a leak in the kitchen, it's bev... your old friend, the mop! ..who's on the case. you are the chief executive, you're looking at puddles in the kitchen! we just all have to muck in here. that's right — bev reid is the boss of the entire dementia matters operation. and she says there's a crisis in the care sector.

jeremy, it shouldn't be this bloody hard, it really shouldn't. day in, day out, it feels like we're living the edge. what's your mood now? frustrated, angry, because it really does feel like a forgotten agenda. out in the garden, phil has come to visit his wife linda, diagnosed with alzheimer's at 55. now she's here in residential care. i love you, i love to love him. dealing with dementia brings heartbreak, of course, and then there's dealing with the complexities of the care system. phil wants change. i really do think proper a social care plan is required, it's notjust a case of throwing a bit more money at it — it's taking an overview of the whole system. lovely to see you, as always... up in the office, bev�*s on a zoom with the chair of the charity. if we can't get the staff in,

we can't take your work. she wants more staff but she can't find them. the government is not addressing lthe needs of this client group... i the staff shortage is central to the huge pressures on bev and the entire system — 165,000 care vacancies across england. the government has announced a £15 million recruitment drive to hire more overseas workers. down in day care, it's time for bingo. eyes down for your first house... i met up withjo, who we met last night, with her husband bill. for the staff here, it is challenging and demanding work. but rewarding too. you could get almost as much money flipping burgers. yeah. and still you say to me it's great. yeah, i... explain. i love it. you do have your challenging days, but you've just got to remember every day is different.

and you're making a difference in somebody else's life. what's needed is more sams, more jamilas, more robs. everybody hungry? better pay would surely help. we are now paying the national living wage. simple question — why can't you pay them more? love to pay them all more — i can't pay them more, cos nobody's willing to pay me more, the organisation more. another fundamental challenge facing the care sector is capacity. eight residential bedrooms here, all occupied all of the time. david's here to visit his mum, serena. it's not cheap, is it? not cheap at all. whatever savings she's got, that's finite. care costs can run

to thousands every month, and it's not covered by the nhs. nice to see you, ok? missing you already. serena has to pay for herself. ministers tell us this is fixed. which it isn't, not even a hint of being fixed. yeah, it's just miles away. the government says that it's because there are limited medical treatments for dementia that costs are not covered by the health service. bev is desperate to increase capacity. we can put a respite bed in here... and right now she has two rooms which could be used, maybe for patients leaving hospital, to free up two precious nhs beds. i bet you there'll be somebody in a hospital bed somewhere that won't be discharged today because there's nowhere to send them. they could come here, but bev�*s still waiting for the rooms to get official approval. the government says

it's investing £51! billion in adult social care over three years, part of a ten—year reform package, but the industry wants radical change now. if we get this wrong, the whole system will collapse, and there'll be hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people who will be in crisis. we'll have an nhs that will be absolutely clogged with people, and the entire system, both health and social care, will be on its knees, so the stakes here are extremely high. come on, sweetheart — don't get upset! labour says it wants to bring care and the nhs together as one unified service. it's heartbreaking, it's hard. i hope we help to take i some of the pressure off. the government is committed to a ten—year reform of social care. but still tonight the question — how will we pay? are you 0k, darling? i remain as passionate as ever about doing our very best for those that need us. good night, john!

jeremy cooke, bbc news, newcastle. covid—i9 infections have increased in the uk, rising 25% in just one week. our health editor, hugh pym, is here with the latest. yes, reeta, for the third successive week now, the office for national statistics is reporting increases in covid infections based on regular household surveys. let's take a look at the chart for the uk, and you can see here that the total is still well below previous peaks in the spring and summer, at 1.3 million people infected in late september, but there's certainly an upward trend. it's partly down to more mixing, with schools and colleges going back, so is this the start of a winter wave? we are keeping an absolute laser focus on this at the moment. we are seeing that increase in england, and i think if we start to see increases in scotland

and wales, to go with those that we've seen this week in england and northern ireland, then we will have a winter wave coming. so what about daily covid hospital admissions? well, this is the chart for england which has the most up—to—date data, and numbers are rising to over 1000 a day. but some of those are people with other conditions who also test positive for the virus. we are seeing an increase in admissions, and we're very worried about that, because obviously it puts pressure on the health service. what we're not seeing so far is much of an increase in the really serious cases, but we know that the vaccine will help protect against those most serious complications. so we're encouraging everybody over 50 to come forward for their booster as soon as they're called. it's thought more than six million eligible people in england haven't come forward yet for their covid booster. with case rates rising amongst the over—70s, officials are once again urging people to do so — and also to get their flu jabs. reeta.

england's triumphant women's footballers were in action tonight. the european champions took on world cup winners the usa at wembley. natalie pirks reports. with the trophy they'd all craved front and centre, a former lioness tried for a cheeky touch. and why not? this was their night, too. following a damning report into systemic abuse in the us women's top league this week, both teams sent a powerfuljoint message. but that's where the friendship ended and the fun started. when england's player of the year, beth mead, marauded down the wing, defender alana cook flapped at the cross, and lauren hemp took full advantage. injured captain leah williamson enjoyed that. but when lindsey horan parried, georgia stanway was outmuscled, and sophia smith pounced. stanway would make amends soon enough, though. lucy bronze took a kick to the head, and var took an age.

but finally the referee pointed to the spot, and stanway was emphatic. but you don't keep the world champs down for long. check out this sumptuous backheel to set up an equaliser. only it wasn't. as they crossed their fingers, var was busy again. no goal. half—time brought reflection — the first lionesses finally recognised with caps after 50 years. remarkably, var intervened again, after the ref said this was handball. that was a bum decision. a friendly can't change history, but with the world cup ten months away, this victory might help change things in the future. natalie pirks, bbc news, wembley. liverpool is jubilant tonight, after being revealed as the host of the eurovision song contest 2023, beating its rival, glasgow. britain is holding the competition after organisers decided the winning country, ukraine, was

unable in current circumstances. let's go live to liverpool and our correspondent david sillito. david. well, behind me, in the shadow of the library building, there will be, in seven months�* time, the eurovision village. but the bid team here in liverpool were this afternoon less than helpful, they were quietly telling people they thought it was going to glasgow, the favourites. then came the announcement, a bit of a surprise. liverpool, and fingers were being crossed. the choice of which uk city would host eurovision was down to a battle between the mersey and the clyde. the city...that will host the 67th eurovision song contest in 2023 is... and the winner, announced on this evening�*s one show... ..liverpool. congratulations!

what fantastic news! i'm absolutely over the moon. when graham was opening that envelope,