this is bbc news. the latest headlines in the uk and around the world: a massive explosion has severely damaged the strategically important road and rail bridge connecting occupied crimea to russia. the un nuclear watchdog calls for the urgent protection of the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in ukraine, after shelling cuts its external power. ten people have been killed and eight injured in an explosion at a petrol station in the republic of ireland — police say it appears to have been a "tragic accident". people take to the streets around the world in support of anti—government demonstrators in iran, as three people are killed during fresh protests in the country.

president putin has suffered an embarrassing setback in the war with ukraine, after a huge explosion on the only bridge linking russia with the crimean peninsula. the bridge partially collasped, but has now reopened to light traffic. russia annexed crimea in 2014 and, after occupying these regions of ukraine in red, it's managed to establish a corridor up through southern and eastern ukraine. the kerch bridge — connecting russia to the crimean peninsula in the black sea — was an important supply route for sending russian troops and artillery into ukraine. the blast there is another humiliation for the kremlin, as our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports. it is the bridge the kremlin built, and it was under attack.

an explosion at dawn. this was the result. russian officials claim a lorry had been blown up here and that the fire then spread to a fuel train. whatever the cause, you can see the damage. this is the bridge that links russia to annexed crimea, and parts of the road had collapsed into the sea. later, investigators announced that three people had been killed. they've opened a criminal case. the 12—mile—long road and rail bridge is not only strategically important to the kremlin as a supply route, it is also a symbol of the russian annexation of crimea. vladimir putin opened it in 2018 — getting behind the wheel to show that, as far as he was concerned, russia and crimea were joined forever. very different scenes today.

pro—kremlin commentators have blamed ukraine for the explosion, but there's been no claim of responsibility from kyiv. it is noticeable how the situation has changed here, and the messaging. a few months ago, russians were being told — by their leaders and by the state media — that the so—called special military operation would be relatively brief and victorious. now they're being told that there are problems, that russia is losing ground. and today, they learnt about the attack on a hugely symbolic location, the crimean bridge. news of the attack has sparked concern amongst the public here. but the russians we spoke to had different ideas about how the kremlin should react. "it's worrying," stas says. "war is always bad. they should have done this differently, with negotiations." but olga says, "putin must respond.

what a birthday present they gave him! we should blow up the train lines ukraine uses to get its military aid from america. this is nato�*s fault." but from vladimir putin, there's been no reaction yet to what happened here. no hint as to how he will respond. steve rosenberg, bbc news, st petersburg. paul adams is in kyiv and told us how the ukrainians are responding to this. ukrainians, in general, are absolutely cock—a—hoop. for them, this is like the sinking of the moskva — the russian flagship of the black sea fleet back in april. this is a real moment of national delight. just to give you a bit of an indication, the ukrainian post office has already announced that it plans to issue a postage stamp celebrating the hit on the bridge over the kerch strait. the symbolism of that attack is enormous here, too.

now, experts i've spoken to have said that they think this was probably a result of an extremely expertly executed sabotage operation, almost certainly by ukrainian special forces. but a presidential adviser just about an hour or so ago said, no, this was actually the result of infighting in moscow. was he trolling the russians, playing on signs of division within the russian defence establishment? we simply don't know. it seems, though, this was a very good day, though, for ukraine. let's find out more from yuri felshtinsky, the author of blowing up ukraine: the return of russian terror, who joins us from germany. thank you so much forjoining us, yuri. first, how significant do you believe this explosion on the bridge is? , , u, believe this explosion on the bridge is? i, is? extremely significant. probably as significant _ is? extremely significant. probably as significant as _ is? extremely significant. probably as significant as the _ is? extremely significant. probably as significant as the defeat - is? extremely significant. probably as significant as the defeat of - is? extremely significant. probably as significant as the defeat of the i as significant as the defeat of the russian army near kyiv and the

defeat of the russian army near kharkiv. the bridge was the only connection between the russian federation and the occupied crimea. now it is basically isolated and encircled. and i think this might be the beginning of the liberation of crimea itself. and besides everything, this is the first time ukrainians are striking against russian federation territory. so this is extremely important. 50 russian federation territory. so this is extremely important. so how far do ou this is extremely important. so how far do you think— this is extremely important. so how far do you think this _ this is extremely important. so how far do you think this shifts - far do you think this shifts russia's military strategy, what can we expect to see from them? well. we expect to see from them? well, here is the — we expect to see from them? well, here is the problem _ we expect to see from them? well, here is the problem is, _ we expect to see from them? -ii here is the problem is, ukrainians of course are getting help from the west, thank you very much for everybody. and this help, unfortunately, is given under strict conditions not to fire against russian or belarus territories. if

this strike is conducted by ukrainians, and i believe it was, this is the first time when ukrainians were striking against the russian territory. and this might mean that the west is changing its approach towards ukrainians, towards their ability to fight the war. because the problem with that, you cannot win the war if you are not allowed to strike in this territory. and so far, belarus and russia were unpunished because the war was conducted within ukrainian territory and russia were regrouping, russian troops were regrouping in belarus and in russia and missiles were firing from belarus airspace. that is where the problem is, unless ukrainians are allowed to strike

preventively into russian territory, into belarus territory, they are not able to win the war. they are able to hold russians, but not really able to win the war and force them out. once again, this should be done a long time ago, this is strategically important bridge which connects the russian federation with crimea, from crimea, of course, the southern front of russian troops destroy cities like mariupol and try to take and destroy cities like odesa. they try to push into transnistria in moldova, to start a war in moldova. so this is extremely important. war in moldova. so this is extremely im ortant. ., ~ war in moldova. so this is extremely imortant. ., ~ ,, war in moldova. so this is extremely imortant. ., ~ i. ., war in moldova. so this is extremely imortant. ., ~ ., important. yuri, thank you for your anal sis. important. yuri, thank you for your analysis- that _ important. yuri, thank you for your analysis. that is _ important. yuri, thank you for your analysis. that is yuri _ important. yuri, thank you for your analysis. that is yuri felshtinsky. l the head of the un nuclear watchdog says the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

in southeastern ukraine must be protected urgently, after shelling again cut all external power. earlier, i spoke with our correspondent in kyiv, hugo bachega. i asked him how much concern there is for what's happening at the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. well, for weeks, this nuclear power station has been at the centre of concerns because of the level of military activity happening around it. the russians invaded this complex at the very beginning of the war and the ukrainians have been saying that russian troops have essentially turned this nuclear facility into a military base, using it as a nuclear shield to launch attacks, knowing that ukrainian forces are unlikely to retaliate. now, president zelensky said more than 500 russian troops, heavily armed, are there, positioned in this complex. and the nuclear operators, the ukrainian staff, are still operating this facility, working under very stressful, difficult conditions.

so rafael grossi, the head of the international atomic energy agency, released a statement saying that "the station must be protected urgently". he's been calling for the creation of a safety zone around this facility. he was here in kyiv earlier this week. he's due to visit moscow to try to push ahead with this plan to try to create this safety zone around the nuclear facility. and he said in a tweet that after this visit to moscow, he's going to return here to kyiv to try to create this safety area around the zaporizhzhia nuclear facility. hugo bachega reporting. ten people are confirmed to have died after an explosion at a petrol station in county donegal in ireland. it happened at the applegreen service station in the village of creeslough yesterday afternoon. police believe

it was a tragic accident. from the scene, the village of creeslough, our ireland correspondent chris page reports. this small community has been caught up in a wave of devastation and desperation. the rescue effort gave way to a recovery operation as the day went on. the sight of ambulances leaving — a sign that there was no expectation anyone else would be found alive. from the moment it happened, blown—out walls, a crumpled roof and tonnes of rubble showed this was a lethal explosion. like a bomb going off and a sonic boom accompanying it that shook us to the core. and immediately, we just... the people who were there, we alljust waited to try and help and try and get people out of the building. the building was very precarious, it was very, very dangerous. there were flats above the garage shop, which largely collapsed. several times, the emergency services asked for complete silence, so they would be able to hear people who were trapped. eight patients were taken to hospital. one is in a critical condition.

what's really striking in the village is the quietness, the stillness, even. the emergency services are continuing to carry out their search and people have gathered to watch, wait for news, but you get the sense that they can't really take in that some of their friends, relatives, neighbours went to the local shop on a friday afternoon and lost their lives so suddenly. all those who were killed were from the area. there are no outstanding reports of unaccounted—for persons. the ten casualties are four men, three women, two teenagers, a boy and a girl, and a younger girl. many of the 400 people who live in creeslough went to a special church service this morning. the leader of the irish government sent his condolences. i think the entire nation is shocked at what has happened. it's an unspeakable tragedy. our thoughts and our prayers, our hearts go out to the people of creeslough. rural county donegal is often

thought of as the essence of tranquillity, an idyllic retreat. tonight, widespread grieving has begun, coupled with an intense feeling of disbelief. well, people here say they are taking some comfort from the messages of sympathy and the practical offers of support they have received from right across the island of ireland. as you can see, the emergency services are bringing down their search no. police, of course, will be investigating how this explosion happened and at this early stage, they are suggesting that a crime is not suspected. our correspondent chris page. reports from iran say at least three people have been shot dead by security forces during the latest protests triggered by the death of a 22—year—old woman in police custody more than three weeks ago. there have been demonstrations in cities around the world today, including this one in the netherlands, in support

of the iranian protests. in iran, the bbc understands the army has been deployed to quell the unrest in some areas. ceremonies have been taking place in thailand, at the start of a four—day funeral for victims of thursday's mass killing at a nursery. 37 people were murdered by a former policeman in the northern town of uthai sawan. the headlines on bbc news: a massive explosion has severely damaged the strategically important road and rail bridge connecting occupied crimea to russia. the un nuclear watchdog calls for the urgent protection of the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in ukraine, after shelling cuts its external power. ten people have been killed and eight injured in an explosion at a petrol station in the republic of ireland — police say it appears to have been a "tragic accident".

the school district in uvalde, texas, has suspended its police force that provides security for schools five months after a mass shooting that killed 19 students and two 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. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri has this report. as families try to make sense of the sudden violent loss of their children, with the uvalde texas school shooting, there was something they couldn't let go of — the district police's response. this was the cctv footage that showed a police force simply waiting in the wings, as an 18—year—old gunman killed children and staff in the robb elementary school. it was over an hour before police confronted the shooter. in the meantime, they stood by and periodically used hand sanitiser. during that time, 19 students

and two teachers were killed. now, after months of pressure from grieving families, the district has suspended their entire police force. their entire school police force. since more and more information has come out as a result of the investigation into this, it really has shown there has really been sort of a lax approach to a lot of these safety protocols, and really, everyone needs to be retrained and new protocols need to be put into place. the chief of the police department, peterarrendondo, had already been fired, but for the victims' families, this is only the beginning. they are still demanding accountability by the local government, as well as state and federal agencies. nobody wins in this case, there are no winners. the children can't come home. you know, people who have to retire early. people get placed into suspension.

there is something called transparency and there is something called accountability, so we are pleased with this, but it isn't over yet. the district has asked the texas department of public safety for more officers to fill in, as families continue to pressure officials for answers and reform, because the question still hangs over them — could the deaths of their loved ones have been avoided? azadeh moshiri, bbc news. rail union leaders have insisted their strikes will continue "for as long as it takes", to get what they see as a fair deal. only about a fifth of train services have been operating across britain today, as more than 40,000 members of the rmt union took further action in a long—running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions. marc ashdown reports. for the second consecutive saturday, rail services have ground to a halt. just one—in—five trains were running today — the impact felt across england, scotland and wales. picket lines at manchester piccadilly have become an all—too—familiar sight, as has disruption for passengers.

i do understand about the strikes, but it is causing a lot of complications, especially with going to work and travelling and things like that. it is making it a lot harder to get around more than usual. we took a bus instead. we took a bus from london. to manchester, because of the rail strike. and then the bus... it was about... - sight hours. — yeah, it was supposed to be a four—hourjourney, and then it turned into eight hours. we're going to take a taxi to blackpool, so that - will cost us 120 quid. 40,000 members of the rmt union at 15 rail operators walked out for the day, mainly guards and signalling stuff, but, crucially, also those at network rail, which operates the tracks and signals. it's all part of a long—running series of disputes involving various unions, overjobs, pay and working conditions. there have now been 11 strikes, with no obvious end in sight. the issues are the same now as they were at the start of the dispute. we've got nothing from these employers, who are acting on behalf of the government. and so, until we get

an agreement, we will have to continue with this dispute. and that could go on well into next year? well, we don't want it to, but it could go on, you know, for an undefined period, but we would like to get a settlement. and we'll be saying to the companies next week, make us some offers that we can consider, and then we can put to our members. unlike the rail operators, network rail has tabled a pay offer, which it says amounts to 8% over two years. we have significantly changed what we were proposing originally and we'll continue to have discussions, but i think what we need to see is compromise from the other side as well, and some realism, frankly, about the state of the railway and that hurting our passengers is never going to make it easier or make it possible for us to make a pay award. all this is having a wider impact on britain's economy. obviously, the passenger railway is really important to us, - but the freight traffic _ is exceptionally important to us. keeping the lights on, at a time when we're i talking about blackouts - for other reasons, the last thing

we want is for critical freight to not be able to get - around the network as well because of this disruption. the new transport secretary, anne—marie trevelyan, says she's confident a deal can be brokered, but only with compromise on both sides. the rmt is about to re—ballot for a fresh strike mandate, which means industrial action could run well into next year. germany's transport minister has blamed major train disruption across the north of the country on a deliberate act of sabotage. volker wissing said cables had been cut through in two separate locations, and that the police were investigating who the perpetrators were. trains were unable to run for three hours, and the radio communication network used to control train traffic had also been disrupted. the fault has now been resolved, but passengers have been warned to expect delays and cancellations. the scottish national party conference has begun in aberdeen, in person for the first time since the pandemic. the party's deputy leader, keith brown, used his opening speech

to criticise the prime minister, liz truss, telling delegates she was a �*symptom of the dysfunction at westminster�*. at their party conference, the dup leader has warned power sharing in northern ireland won't be restored unless his party's demands on the northern ireland protocol are met. sirjeffrey donaldson said the protocol was contributing to the cost—of—living crisis. the dup is refusing to rejoin power—sharing until changes are made to the part of the brexit deal covering trade in northern ireland. one of britain's most notorious serial killers, peter tobin, has died afterfalling ill in prison. the 76 year old, who was serving three life sentences, was taken from hmp edinburgh to hospital on wednesday. david cowan reports. a schoolgirl waiting for a bus on a winter's night. as each day goes past, i lose a bit more faith that she's still alive. i pray to god that she is. an 18—year—old hitchhiking home from a music festival. 1% of me thinks she's alive and the other 99%

thinks she's dead now. a young woman living at a church. we are very worried about it. it's totally out of character. three lives brutally cut short by one man, and no—one doubts there were more. born injohnstone in renfrewshire, peter tobin led a nomadic life and used numerous aliases. he was violent and abusive towards his three ex—wives and, in the early—1990s, was jailed for a horrific sex attack. this is peter tobin. hampshire police wish to talk to him after two schoolgirls were sexually assaulted and imprisoned in a flat in havant. tobin was behind bars for ten years and returned to scotland in 2004. after attacking another young girl, he went on the run. fears are growing for the safety of a young polish woman who has been missing for three days. angelika kluk was living and working at st patrick's in glasgow. tobin was the church handyman, hiding there under a false name. he bludgeoned, raped and stabbed the 23—year—old,

before concealing her body under the church floorboards. tobin was 60 at the time. the brutality of the murder convinced police he'd killed before. based in glasgow, operation anagram was a uk—wide investigation into his past. around the country, police re—examined cold cases and, soon, tobin was linked to one of scotland's longest mysteries. my colleagues in west lothian are now gravely concerned for vicky hamilton, a schoolgirl who disappeared nearly five weeks ago. vicky hamilton went missing in bathgate. her mother appealed for help, but the 15—year—old had vanished without trace. she just refused to go out and refused to just leave in case vicky showed up. that broke my mum's heart. she just became a shell of a person and, two years later, she died. she was another one of peter tobin's victims. yeah, you could look at that, indirectly, yes, definitely.

if vicky hadn't went missing, i'm pretty sure my mum would still be with us today. detectives discovered tobin was living in bathgate when vicky went missing. they searched his former home and found this — a knife bearing traces of her dna. there he is, the man... tobin was charged with vicky's abduction. if there is any way that you can assist us in finding this girl now? no. as i say, i've never met her. three police forces are combining resources to search common land in hampshire for a missing essex teenager. operation anagram then linked him to dinah mcnicol, the daughter of a scottish jazz musician who disappeared in august 1991. the police searched tobin's former home in margate and, to their astonishment, found vicky buried in a shallow grave. no—one had expected her to be there. days later, they discovered a second body. it was dinah. after 16 years, the horrifying truth emerged.

tobin had murdered vicky in bathgate, dismembered her body and, five weeks later, taken her remains with him when he moved to a new home 500 miles away in margate. five months after that, he murdered dinah. now a convicted serial killer, serving three life sentences, the scot was linked to other missing girls. 18—year—old louise kay from eastbourne disappeared in 1988, but more searches in the south of england brought no closure for her family, or for any others. we want anyone that was in the church for any reason to come forward. the detective behind operation anagram is convinced he had other victims. as far as i'm concerned, peter tobin is evil. he's pure evil. this is someone who had no respect for humanity. i have no doubt that peter tobin has killed other people, but this is a coward that has taken the secrets to the grave. and he may speak of his strict religious upbringing and make reference to the bible.

over the years, there was speculation peter tobin committed the so—called biblejohn murders in glasgow in the late—1960s, but dna evidence found on one of the victims doesn't match tobin's. it's often reported that he bragged of killing 48 women. police say that story is an urban myth. the truth, unembellished, is bad enough. vicky hamilton's sister hopes he will now be forgotten. we always wanted vicky to be remembered, not tobin. vicky was the victim. just his dark shadow that's over you for the rest of your life, so we were hoping that now tobin's gone, that that shadow can eventuallyjust clear and we can just remember vicky as the sweet, loving sister that she was. the aviation industry has agreed a long—term goal of decarbonising air travel. the international civil aviation organisation — meeting in canada — has accepted a plan

for net—zero emissions by 2050. airlines have agreed to offset their carbon and develop greener fuels. the bbc�*s tim allman has the story. when you look up to the skies, you can see the threat to our climate first—hand. criss—crossing through the air, an industry that endangers the environment with every single flight. but now, airline companies have agreed a deal that could perhaps make a difference. in a statement, luis felipe de oliveira, the head of airports council international said... and john kerry, president biden�*s climate envoy said... so, what have they agreed? well, the aviation industry contributes around 2.5%—3% of global co2 emissions.

the plan is to decarbonise, with a target of net zero by 2050. the airlines say it will require an investment of more than $1.5 trillion. how will they do it? partly, they will use a system of carbon offsetting. for every flight, a certain number of trees will be planted which can absorb co2 from the air. the airline industry may also try to encourage the development of greener, more sustainable fuel. critics remain unconvinced, saying this is a non—binding goal that will fail to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050, but the airline industry insists it's a start, a step — even a flight — in the right direction. tim allman, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. good evening, the weather has been

much quieterfor most good evening, the weather has been much quieter for most today, just a few showers in the north and west, because we have a ridge of high pressure. those showers will fade back to the coast this evening. but we will have the winds are strengthening and more cloud pushing in to western areas through the night. the arrival of rain towards dawn. milder many in scotland and northern ireland, but a chilly night, two or three in rural parts, low enough for gress frost first thing in mist and fog given we have light winds. that should clear, then mostly —— mostly dry and sunny eastwards. the cloud thickens, the wind thickens and severe gales across the western isles. heavy rain with squally winds driving across scotland, northern ireland, to north—western fringes of england and wales. so tempering the feel of the day, with 17 or 18 elsewhere in the sunshine. a lot of dry weather in the early part of next week.