welcome to bbc news. president zelensky urges russians to make a stand against the war. translation: all that putin is afraid of, - it is not even a nuclear strike. he is afraid of his own society, he is afraid of his own people. the nobel peace prize is jointly awarded to two ukrainian and russian civil liberties groups. and an activist imprisoned in belarus. grief beyond measure. families mourn the deaths of 36 people murdered in a nursery

school in thailand. and jubilation as liveable is picked to host next year's eurovision song contest. hello, welcome to the programme. president zelensky says the world must act now to stop russia's nuclear threat. speaking to the bbc, ukraine's leader warns that russian officials have begun to "prepare their society" for the possible use of nuclear weapons. 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.

yesterday, 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. 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. what, you mean prepare society for using a nuclear weapon, you think? you know, it's. .. they don't know if 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 preventive kicks, not attacks, we are not terrorists, and we don't fight on another territory. even our attitude from our society, attitude to to russians after this invasion, after all these eight years war, eight years blood tragedy, even after this, attitude from us, to them, to society, we are not ready to kill

people, like russians do it. do you think that president putin is capable of launching nuclear weapons and using them? translation: |f| say, - for example, they are incapable of using nuclear weapons, then an inadequate person who has this power in his hands will say, "really? i can't?" "well, here, see how i can and then use it." now, 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's afraid of his own society. he is afraid of his own people, because only these people can replace him — strip him of his power and give

it to another person. do you think they should stand up against him? they shouldn't be afraid. let them not fight against somebody, but for themselves. and he had a word for the russian soldiers who are sent here. translation: those mobilised kids - now, well, they come with nothing, without guns or body armour. they are being thrown here like cannon fodder, not people. if you do win, we'll the vladimir putin survive? translation: i don't care. you don't care if he is still in power, whether he's thrown out? translation: not in the slightest. . mr zelensky has developed 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 now open criticism of the ukraine war on russian television. and this year's nobel peace prize has been awarded to human rights campaigners 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 centre 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, the fifth 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. we can speak now to a senior research associate with the

project on managing the atom, what do you make of these comments warning about potential nuclear armageddon? i think it is correct that president biden takes putin's nuclear threats very seriously as showed everyone else. i personally think using the word like armageddon might be somewhat far—fetched. normally we think about armageddon as some thing that would ensue from an all—out nuclear exchange between two nuclear armed adversaries. these other sort of scenarios we have been contemplating when thinking how to manage nuclear weapons and more than one nuclear possessor in this world but i think the current situation is really different in a sense that the highest risk is of a nuclear use rather than a nuclear war and a nuclear use by a nuclear

weapon state against a non—nuclear weapon and state thatis non—nuclear weapon and state that is also not protected by nuclear deterrence of an ally like other nato allies might be. so this is both perhaps, any use of nuclear weapons would be terrible but the scope of damage might not be armageddon sized. but at the same time, the restraints that normally work in a situation of nuclear deterrence are simply not there. in nuclear deterrence are simply not there-— not there. in which case that be . s not there. in which case that begs the _ not there. in which case that begs the rather _ not there. in which case that begs the rather terrifying - begs the rather terrifying question, what is there to stop putin if he feels he is losing on the battlefield from going ahead with those threats that he has repeatedly made? i think those are very — he has repeatedly made? i think those are very difficult _ those are very difficult questions that the white house, washington and also other european capitals have been grappling with. what can you credibly threaten on behalf of

a non—treaty ally, on behalf of a non—treaty ally, on behalf of a country that you support, that you are willing to go to great lengths to root for, for them winning but really, what sort of things are you willing to threaten on their behalf to stop a nuclear use by someone like mr putin? and i think we find those options wanting. by no means is that nuclear use by putin eminent, there are probably other reason that mr putin might decide against such a use but we are realising that nuclear deterrence is not one of them. , of them. on the broader point, i'd believe _ of them. on the broader point, i'd believe ukraine _ of them. on the broader point, i'd believe ukraine is— of them. on the broader point, i'd believe ukraine is the - of them. on the broader point, i'd believe ukraine is the only i i'd believe ukraine is the only country to have voluntarily given up nuclear weapons in history. what does that do for the future of non—proliferation attempts or incentives, when other countries look at the position now finds itself in

and think hang on, that is not and think hang on, that is not a great situation to be in. you are correct — a great situation to be in. you are correct that _ a great situation to be in. you are correct that this is - a great situation to be in. wi, are correct that this is not very good optics for the international nonproliferation regime although ukraine is not the only country to have voluntarily given up nuclear weapons. south africa was one, developed clear weapons and had decided to dismantle them and ukraine came as a sort of one of the package of three non—russian successor states, so the union that inherited nuclear weapons and decided to give them up, belarus and kazakhstan were the other two. but ukraine certainly had the greatest capacity amongst the three of those to turn that inheritance into nuclear deterrence and gave up that option in 1994 because it wanted tojoin the wanted to join the international community wanted tojoin the international community on good terms. it did not want to become the north korea of

eastern europe. and now the objects of this are terrible, frankly. it was left in this security vacuum and was invaded by the country that supposedly guaranteed security as part of the nuclear deal. russia, one of those countries. so it would not be a stretch to think that other states in a similar security predicament like ukraine would be eyeing a nuclear deterrent as a failsafe way to provide for their security. way to provide for their security-— way to provide for their securi . ., ., ., ~ security. ok, mariana, thank ou security. ok, mariana, thank you very _ security. ok, mariana, thank you very much _ security. ok, mariana, thank you very much for _ security. ok, mariana, thank you very much for your- security. ok, mariana, thank. you very much for your analysis joining us from harvard kennedy school. 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 hasjoined grieving parents placing flowers on the steps

of the centre in the town of uthai sawan, where the attack took place. jonathan head 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 24 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the bbc reveals which city will host the eurovision song contest next year. 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, a reminder of our headlines: in interview with the bbc, ukraine's president zelensky has urged russians to stand up against the war. the nobel peace prize has been jointly

awarded to a ukrainian and a russian civil liberties group, and a belarusian activist. the school district in uvalde texas has suspended its police force that provide security for schools five months after a mass shooting that killed students and teachers. the police department has been under investigation for its response to the shooting, including delays by officers in reaching the gunman while he was holed up in a classroom. we can now speak to former fbi special agent tracy welder who joins us from dallas, texas. explained to us the significance of this suspension, what it means who deputy speaker means for those involved. . «a deputy speaker means for those involved. . ~', ,., deputy speaker means for those involved. . . ., involved. thanks so much for havin: involved. thanks so much for having me- — involved. thanks so much for having me- i— involved. thanks so much for having me. ithink— involved. thanks so much for having me. i think that - involved. thanks so much for having me. i think that this l involved. thanks so much for| having me. i think that this is a really big deal, what this means is that they are recognising that there were a lot of faults in regard to the

security of the school. at least here in texas, and in this particular school district, just to help the audience in terms of understanding how this works, this is a police department thatis this is a police department that is actually employed by the school district itself. this is not the uvalde police department, theirjob is to ensure that the school stays safe, teachers follow safety protocols, and that the superintendent is aware of all of these protocols. and since more and more information has come out as a result of the investigation into this, it really has shown that there is really has shown that there is really a lackadaisical approach to a lot of these safety protocols, and really everyone needs to be retrained and new protocols need to be put into place. ii protocols need to be put into lace. , ., place. if the division, if the olice place. if the division, if the police department - place. if the division, if the police department that - place. if the division, if the - police department that provides security for schools in that district has been suspended, who is now providing security for those schools?— for those schools? that is an excellent _ for those schools? that is an excellent question. - for those schools? that is an excellent question. right - for those schools? that is an | excellent question. right now it looks like the texas

department of public safety has since stepped in and is providing that safety for schools, all of them have been trained in the alert training that we give here in texas in regard to active shooter training and school security. so the answer to that question is the texas department of public safety.— is the texas department of public safety. and in terms of what motivated _ public safety. and in terms of what motivated the _ public safety. and in terms of. what motivated the suspension of this police department in the uvalde school district, was it a community push, did people feel angry about the way it had been handled or what has been the community reaction? it is been handled or what has been the community reaction?- the community reaction? it is a coule the community reaction? it is a coople of _ the community reaction? it is a couple of things, _ the community reaction? it is a couple of things, i _ the community reaction? it is a couple of things, i think - the community reaction? it is a couple of things, i think it - the community reaction? it is a couple of things, i think it is i couple of things, i think it is absolutely a community push but i also i think since the investigation has got under way, we have seen and heard that lots of security lapses, for instance teachers waiting for instance teachers waiting for months and months for locks on doors to be fixed, those are things that should be done immediately, and that is why we also saw the superintendent

said that he would be retiring. but really, those school district police officers are also responsible for those things. so i would imagine there is somewhat of a political porch, but there is also somewhat of a community push as well. —— push. also somewhat of a community push as well. -- push.- also somewhat of a community push as well. -- push. what do ou push as well. -- push. what do you think _ push as well. -- push. what do you think the — push as well. -- push. what do you think the community - push as well. -- push. what do you think the community will. you think the community will make of this decision? it is hard to say- _ make of this decision? it is hard to say. right - make of this decision? it is hard to say. right now- make of this decision? it is hard to say. right now i . make of this decision? it 3 hard to say. right now i think there is a lot of mistrust in there is a lot of mistrust in the community, and rightly so. between the community and the police department. so i think the community will see this as a step in the right direction, however i think they will be extremely cautious in their optimism because the reality is there is still an investigation thatis there is still an investigation that is under way, and the uvalde police department itself is also still being investigated. is also still being investi . ated. ., . , is also still being investiuated. . ., investigated. ok, tracy walder, former fbi _ investigated. ok, tracy walder, former fbi special _ investigated. ok, tracy walder, former fbi special agent, - investigated. ok, tracy walder,j former fbi special agent, thank you very much. liverpool is celebrating another win — but not

on the football pitch. it's been revealed the city will host the eurovision song contest next year, beating its rival glasgow. the uk is holding the competition in may after organisers decided the winning country fromn this year, ukraine, was unable to host in the current cicumstances. our correspondent david sillito reports. 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! cheering. what fantastic news! i'm absolutely over the moon. when graham was opening that envelope, iwas like, "oh, my goodness, please, please!" oh, i'm ecstatic, it's marvellous! of course, this eurovision should be taking place in ukraine, and it is now

for liverpool to prove that while it can't take place in ukraine, this is going to be a eurovision for ukraine. liverpool's already had the endorsement of its twin city, 0desa, and this year's winner, the kalush 0rchestra have offered their congratulations to a city that wants eurovision to be a citywide party and a celebration of music and peace. wejust had a real moment, haven't we, in this city, where we've won eurovision, and it feels like the whole city kind ofjumped in the air at exactly the same time tonight. and now we've got seven months to deliver something that will be truly astonishing, incredible for ukraine, our sister city 0desa, but also incredible for the whole uk, so we are delighted. but tonight in liverpool, it will be absolutely buzzing, it will be incredible. cheering and in the bars, watching the announcement, you could see what this means. the place that prides itself on being a party city... # and celebrations...#

..now has a lot to organise. david sillito, bbc news, liverpool. earlier i spoke to eurovision superfan alasdair rendall, who's promoter of the uk's biggest eurovision club night as well as a board member of the british branch of the eurovision fan network. i asked what was the verdict of the fans. i was watching the live reveal earlier this evening with a bunch of other eurovision fans here in cardiff, and the reception was great. whatever city had won, glasgow or liverpool, it would have been an amazing choice, but there were big cheers in the room when liverpool was announced, i think it is going to be a fantastic host city. you say cheers for liverpool — lulu said her heart sank when the announcement was made that it wasn't glasgow. how could they do that to her! i know, poor lulu! but then sonia, she was cheering for liverpool, so the big eurovision heavyweights

were up against each other. alasdair, we are speaking, clearly there is a bit of shared enthusiasm for eurovision here, but there will be some people who look at this and say, goodness, it is going to cost liverpool millions and millions of pounds to host this — is it worth it? it is absolutely worth it. it will be the focal point notjust for europe but for the world for that week in may next year. it is going to be an absolutely amazing experience, there will be people travelling from across europe and beyond to descend on liverpool to watch the show, to soak up the atmosphere, all the host cities have done an amazing job over the last few years, and ijust know liverpool is going to do just a fantastic show. the atmosphere — we are months away already and the atmosphere is really building, it is going to be incredible. of course one of the big difficulties — not difficulties, but one of the logistics to sort out is all the acts that were scheduled to be in the arena, they have got to schedule those dates.

so presumably they have got to send some big apologies to fans who were looking forward to seeing some of our favourite popstars? i know, there will be a few difficult conversations to be had, but it is eurovision, it's absolutely worth it. if i was one of those global superstars who was preparing to play in liverpool, i would be happy to give up that place, because it is the world's biggest music event after all. the next challenge will be to get people's hands on not only hotel rooms but putting it as well, that is the big challenge. it will be like gold dust trying to get tickets for liverpool this year. every year it is a real battle for fans to get tickets to the show, but i think this year, even moreso for 2023. but for those lucky people it is really going to be worth it. and even if you don't get tickets for the grand final, there is the semifinals, the jury finals, you will hopefully be able to watch on big screens in the city, so it is going to be a great show nonetheless. 0ne one of the uk's top eurovision

superfans. you can reach me on twitter, i'm @benmboulos. thanks for watching, i will see you soon. hello there. brief respite on the horizon across the whole country to start the weekend, thanks to a ridge of high pressure building in. that'll settle things down to bring quite a lot of sunshine around and lighter winds on saturday for all areas. but it will be turning wet and windy again on sunday across scotland and northern ireland, tending to stay drier further south. so here it is, our area of high pressure, building in for saturday. fewer isobars on the charts as well, so winds will be lighter, as well. so it's a chilly start to saturday, maybe a little bit of mist and fog across southern areas, but plenty of sunshine around. however, the far north and west of scotland will tend to remain breezy. more cloud here with a few showers at times, and there could be the odd shower,

northern ireland, north—west england too, but most places dry — temperatures reaching 14—17 celsius. feeling quite pleasant in the south, with lighter winds. through saturday night, conditions start to deteriorate across the north and west of the country. winds pick up, cloud starts to push in, so temperatures recover, but central—southern eastern england could be really quite chilly by sunday morning with some mist and fog in places. well, the temperatures recover across the north and the west because we've got this area of low pressure sweeping into scotland and northern ireland throughout the day on sunday. so it turns much wetter here, winds picking up to gale force, maybe even severe gale force and exposure. few showers getting into the north and west of england, and into north—west wales at times, too. but for the rest of england, it'll stay dry with plenty of sunshine after that chilly start. a breezier day in the south, but very windy across the north and west with gales or even severe gales, like i mentioned. those temperatures ranging from around the mid teens in the north, again up to 17—18 celsius in the south. that band of rain spreads across all areas during sunday night, but into monday, it will eventually clear away from the south—east,

and then we're into another ridge of high pressure. so, many places will be dry across central and southern areas on monday. a bit more of a breeze, though, across scotland, perhaps northern ireland, the far north—west of england, one or two showers here. we've got the low teens here, quite a cool feel — in fact, up to 16 or 17 celsius further south. the area of high pressure continues to bring fine weather through tuesday and wednesday in the south—east. but areas of low pressure start to turn things more unsettled again in the north and the west as we move deeper into the week. so, i think by the end of the week, all areas will be turning cooler and more unsettled with wet and windy weather spreading in at times.

this is bbc news — the headlines: ukraine's president zelensky has told the bbc that he echoes president biden's warning that any use of nuclear weapons would lead to armageddon. he's urged russians to stand up against the war. it comes as ukrainian troops continue making steady progress in reclaiming land occupied by russian forces. this year's nobel peace prize has been split three ways to recognise human rights work in belarus, russia and ukraine. it's been awarded to the jailed belarusian activist ales bialiatski, the banned russian rights group memorial, and the ukrainian centre for civil liberties. in thailand, distraught families have been mourning the deaths of 36 people,

including more than 20 children, murdered by a former police officer