hello and welcome to bbc news. the russian president has ordered a full investigation into the explosion that destroyed part of his country's only road link to the occupied crimean peninsula. vladimir putin has also ordered the russian secret service to ramp up security on the kerch bridge. ukrainian officials have welcomed the explosion — without officially admitting responsibility. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports.

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 could 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 have 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 for ever.

very different scenes today. pro—kremlin commentators have blamed ukraine for the explosion, but there has 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 are being told that there are problems, that russia is losing ground, and today they learned 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 is 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 has 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 the 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 get some of the day's other news. the israeli army says a border police officer has died of her injuries following a shooting at a checkpoint in israeli—occupied eastjerusalem. a security guard remains in a serious condition. one person has been arrested. there has been an escalation in violent incidents between palestinians and the israeli security forces on the occupied west bank in recent months

austrians are preparing to vote in a presidential election, to choose their new head of state. the incumbent, and clear favourite, is alexander van der bellen, the former leader of the greens. he is hoping to secure a majority to avoid a run—off vote. the president has a largely ceremonial role, but has sweeping powers in overseeing times of change and turbulence. ten people including a young child and teenagers are confirmed to have died after an explosion at a petrol station at county donegal on friday. police say they believe it is a tragic accident. this small community has been caught up in a wave of devastation and

aspiration. the rescue efforts became a recovery process as the day went on. the sight of ambulances leaving a sign that there was no it dictation that more survivors would be found. from the moment it happened, walls, a crumpled roof and tons of rubble showed this was a lethal explosion.— of rubble showed this was a lethal explosion. like a bomb auoin off lethal explosion. like a bomb going off and _ lethal explosion. like a bomb going off and a _ lethal explosion. like a bomb going off and a sonic - lethal explosion. like a bomb going off and a sonic boom i going off and a sonic boom company that that shook us to the core and immediately the people who were there we all just waited to try to help and try to get people out of the building. the building was very precarious, it was very, very dangerous. precarious, it was very, very dangerou— dangerous. there were flats above the — dangerous. there were flats above the garage _ dangerous. there were flats above the garage shop - dangerous. there were flats | above the garage shop which largely collapsed. several times the emergency services asked for silence so they would be able to hear anyone who was trapped. eight people were taken to hospital, one is in a critical condition. what is really striking in the village is the quietness and stillness. the emergency services are

continuing to carry out their search and people have gathered to watch, but you get the sense that they can't really take in 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 persons. the ten casualties of four men, three women, two teenagers, a boy and a girl and a younger girl. boy and a girl and a younger uirl. , ., girl. this evening, the leader ofthe girl. this evening, the leader of the irish _ girl. this evening, the leader of the irish governments - girl. this evening, the leader- of the irish governments scheme to meet firefighters, police and paramedics. he said the nation was morning. i and paramedics. he said the nation was morning.- and paramedics. he said the nation was morning. i think we 'ust nation was morning. i think we just have _ nation was morning. i think we just have to — nation was morning. i think we just have to be _ nation was morning. i think we just have to be with _ nation was morning. i think we just have to be with them, - nation was morning. i think we just have to be with them, our| just have to be with them, our thoughts and our prayers are with you, and will be with you for quite some time.-

for quite some time. rural county donegal— for quite some time. rural county donegal is - for quite some time. rural county donegal is often i for quite some time. rural - county donegal is often thought of as the essence of tranquillity, an idyllic retreat. tonight widespread breathing has begun coupled with an intense feeling of disbelief. chris page, bbc news, creeslough. three more people have reportedly been killed in iran, during a further day of anti—government demonstrations. it's the fourth week of protest following the death in custody of a young woman. this report from our diplomatic correspondent, caroline hawley, contains images that some viewers may find distressing. chanting. there's a target to their anger, and he's inside the building. these students in tehran are shouting at the country's president to "get lost" as he visits their university. inside, ebrahim raisi recited a poem, likening the protesters to flies. a receptive audience here. but elsewhere in the capital, there were chants of "death

to the dictator" — a reference to iran's supreme leader — with protests reported in many cities across the country today. video posted on social media shows riot police close to tehran�*s main bazaar in the centre of the city, in normal times seen as a bastion of support for the regime. but many shopkeepers had shut up their stores in support of the protesters, who set fire to a police kiosk. and this was the eastern city of mashhad today, where new protests brought new grief. screaming. here, a young woman has been shot in the neck by iran's security forces. distressed cries. it was the death last month of mahsa amini, arrested for being improperly dressed, which ignited this wave of unrest. her family say she was beaten in custody. her gravestone reads that her name will become

a symbol, and it has, as iranians find new ways of resisting the regime. the billboard here reads that the police are the servants of the people, but this man, cheered on by others, changes it to read, "killers of the people," and calls for the death of the supreme leader. leaders have insisted the airstrikes will continue for as long as it takes to get what they see is a fair deal. only about a fifth of trans services operated across britain yesterday as about 40,000 members of the rmt union took place in a long—running dispute.

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... we took a bus instead. we took a bus from london to manchester. yeah, to manchester, - because of the rail strike. and then the bus... it was about... eight hours. yeah, it was supposed to be a four—hourjourney, - and then it turned into eight hours. i we're going to take a taxi to blackpool, so that'll cost us, like — that'll cost us 120 quid. 40,000 members of the rmt union at 15 rail operators walked out for the day — mainly guards and signalling staff 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'd 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 — 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 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. mark ashdown, bbc news. the bbc has been given more details about an incident which led to the sacking of connor burns as international trade minister stop an eyewitness said that mr burns had touched a man's thigh at a hotel bar on tuesday during the conservative party conference in birmingham stopping the bbc hasn't been able to speak to the man. mr

burns denies any wrongdoing and has criticised a rush to judgement by party officials. funeral services have been held for dozens of victims of a knife and gun attack on a nursery school in northern thailand. 24 children and 12 adults were murdered by a former policeman on thursday. our south east asia correspondent, jonathan head, sent this report. all these young faces as they were in life, as theirfamilies would like to remember them. one wall of the temple has been turned into a shrine to what is now a lost generation for this village with loved toys, stuffed animals and, for this boy, a school uniform he'd onlyjust begun wearing. kanjana and sittipong are saying goodbye to their only child, three—year—old poobet, one of the youngest victims. they rushed back here on news of the attack from another province where they've

been working. translation: he was a very cheerful boy. i everyone admired him. i see you've been holding this blanket ever since we first saw you. and tell us about the blanket. you know, this is the blanket he really loved. it always had to be a red blanket. he loved the smell of it. floral tributes have come from all over the country. arranging them properly is one of the manyjobs taken on by volunteers in the village. then, the start of a funeral, which is expected to last for four days. this is a holy water pouring ceremony for which people queued on their knees inside and under a fierce tropical sun outside. funerals in thailand are always a community affair, and it seems that pretty much all the residents of this village have come to be a part of this one. it is a way of sharing the grief, of course, of consoling the parents, but also of acknowledging that these dreadful killings

have affected everyone. then, it was the turn of kanjana and sittipong. this young couple left their village in search ofjobs they hoped would provide a better life for their son. those hopes have been cruelly dashed by an attack no—one could have foreseen and which no one can understand. jonathan head, bbc news, north—eastern thailand. the north—eastern thailand. leader of the democratic unionist the leader of the democratic unionist party has warned that his conference the power—sharing instalment point be restored unless the dup's demands on the northern ireland protocol are met. sirjeffrey donaldson is that the protocol was contributing to the cost of living crisis. the dup is refusing to rejoin power—sharing until changes are made to part of the brexit deal covering trade in northern ireland. ., , covering trade in northern ireland. ., ., ireland. college costs, moving between great _ ireland. college costs, moving

between great britain - between great britain and northern ireland, have risen by nearly 30% as a result of the protocol —— haulage, where do we think that increase goes to? it goes on the goods we buy, it goes into and out of the pockets of every single consumer and household in northern ireland. the scottish national party _ northern ireland. the scottish national party has _ northern ireland. the scottish national party has accused i northern ireland. the scottish national party has accused ukj national party has accused uk government of chaos and confusion. the party's westminster leader ian blackford told delegates liz truss and kwasi kwarteng made, in his words, the worst first impression in the history of british politics. david wallace lockhart has been giving us the latest from aberdeen. i lockhart has been giving us the latest from aberdeen.- latest from aberdeen. i think ian blackford's _ latest from aberdeen. i think ian blackford's speech i latest from aberdeen. i think ian blackford's speech was i ian blackford's speech was actually quite similar in many respects to the snp's deputy leader who spoke this morning in terms of structure, they spent a lot of time taking aim at the current uk government, really criticising the economic turmoil of the past week or so, really stressing that they believe that the only way for

scotland to secure economic security is via independence. of course, that would largely be expected from an snp conference. what was also really interesting from ian blackford is a focus on labour and at the point where polls suggest labour pulling ahead of the conservatives uk—wide and interestingly the snp earning some attention to criticising the labour party, perhaps a few there from some scottish voters that may be tempted by a resurgent labour but important to stress in all of that the snp have been in powerfor 15 years in scotland and still remain dominant at this point. five teenagers in hong kong have been found guilty of advocating a violent revolution against the chinese state. they were sentenced to up to three years in detention, making it the first time any hong kong citizens under the age of 18 have been convicted under the national security law. earlier, i spoke to our news reporter azadeh moshiri and asked her what we know about the case. according to what was said

in court, they were advocating for a violent revolution. the prosecutor said this was on social media, on websites like instagram, as well as on street booths and by distributing certain pamphlets. now, this was possible because of the 2020 national security law that made it easier to prosecute protesters. but what's different here is it's the first time that it's been used against teenagers. now, thejudge, in their sentencing, said that they did take into account the age of the protesters and that that's why the sentence has been capped at three years detention and why they are being sent to a detention centre for young people, also known as training centres, as opposed to a jail. but they said the issue was that even if they managed to influence one person, that would've undermined the stability of hong kong, as well as the safety of the residents. and azadeh, can you remind us of the context of the national security law and why it was introduced? well, you'll remember that there were widespread protests in hong kong in 2019

and those were ignited because of an extradition bill that was introduced that allowed it — allowed china to extradite people from hong kong and have them prosecuted in mainland china. now, those protests lasted a long time and there was a violent crackdown against those protesters and china believed that this would make it easier to quash those protests, as well as safeguard their influence over hong kong. now, it did things like make secession, undermining the government, colluding with foreign forces, it made those things illegal and meant that they were able to put protesters, as well as opposition lawmakers, injailfor the rest of their lives. it also was a political tool because then, those people could not stand for office ever again. and from the looks of it, it has worked, those protests did diminish and now, many — more than 100 people — have been put injail

because of it. azadeh moshiri speaking to me earlier. let's return to our top story on the war in ukraine. i've been speaking to barry pavlou, he is at the national security division of the rand corporation and i asked him what impact this will have on president britain's morale. i think it's another blow, one of the same, ever since, in terms of sustained damage to his morale, ever since the beginning of the successful ukrainian counteroffensive —— president putin. really taking large amounts of territory and the russian forces are really on the run and so this is another kind of low in that regard. it's a prestige issue, as was mentioned, but it constrains their resupply to what putin considers his crown jewel and that's crimea. that's

a really gut and heart issue for him so it's got to hurt but looks like there's going be more. the ukrainian forces seem like they are really gaining momentum.— like they are really gaining momentum. ~ ., ., i. momentum. what impact do you think this momentum. what impact do you thinkthiswill_ momentum. what impact do you think this will have _ momentum. what impact do you think this will have on _ think this will have on president putin's ability to resupply? president putin's ability to resuoply?_ president putin's ability to resupply? president putin's ability to resu--l ?~ ,., ., resupply? well, this alone may or may not _ resupply? well, this alone may or may not have _ resupply? well, this alone may or may not have a _ resupply? well, this alone may or may not have a lot _ resupply? well, this alone may or may not have a lot of - or may not have a lot of impact, i think constrains the russian forces resupply. i did the reporting of other attacks on other russian rail network nodes and so if it continues, is going to be much harderfor russians to resupply their forces and those forces are getting beat, they are getting killed and are retreating so it's a sort of all coming together and i think too early together and i think too early to use the word disintegration but there is a lot of indicators that russian forces

indicators that russian forces in occupied territory in ukraine are really damaged, their morale is down and conscripts that we've seen mobilised in a couple of weeks, they are not going to make it any better. they are not going to make it any better-— they are not going to make it an better. , ., , any better. president putin has made nuclear _ any better. president putin has made nuclear threats - any better. president putin has made nuclear threats on i any better. president putin hasl made nuclear threats on audible occasions so how seriously should those threats be taken, do you think? i should those threats be taken, do you think?— do you think? i mean, it's a talkin: do you think? i mean, it's a talking point— do you think? i mean, it's a talking point he _ do you think? i mean, it's a talking point he uses i do you think? i mean, it's a talking point he uses often. you know, russia does not have a lot of instruments to use... this is the last one.— this is the last one. and this is the big — this is the last one. and this is the big one _ this is the last one. and this is the big one so _ this is the last one. and this is the big one so at - this is the last one. and this is the big one so at the i is the big one so at the beginning of the war, he used it in 2014 when he invaded crimea and has used it since the beginning of the war so i think we need to take it seriously. not ignore it. be attentive to it. think about how we might handle it. but most importantly, think about how we might deter it and in my view, the actual risk is quite low. i mean, i don't think he

wants a war with nato at this point. that would be one of the potential scenarios, you know, if his forces can't even handle ukraine very well. in addition, if you used a tactical nuclear weapon, there would be radioactive fallout, the wind likely would bring that fallout over russians, killing many russians, and i don't think he wants that and also, it would make the area that was attacked uninhabitable for a very long time to come. so i think the us and allied approach to not back down, to take it seriously but down, to take it seriously but do not back down and to keep doing what we are doing and ukrainians to keep doing what they are doing, i think that's definitely the right approach. barry pavlou from the rand corporation. china has successfully launched two new satellites. the authorities say they'll be used to help global navigation and communication. although the launch was fairly routine, where they launched from was a little out of the ordinary, as tim allman explains. when you think of rocket

launches, this is probably the sort of thing you have in mind. a big, controlled explosion and tons of metal heading into space. but when it comes to slipping the surly bonds of earth, the earth bit has always been a fairly important part of the equation. tell that to the chinese, who are now launching rockets from on board a ship. this giant vessel heads out to the yellow sea, a few kilometres off the coast, providing both innovation and flexibility. translation: there are different launch sites i to choose from for a seaborne launch, making it easier to find a safe area for rocket debris. therefore, it's more convenient than launching from land. it also helps that the launch site is not a fixed point.

taking off from different latitudes means you can choose different orbits, which saves costs on fuel. the sea has long been an important part of the space exploration journey with splashdown often the final chapter of each mission. but now, china has turned that on its head — from the high seas to outer space. tim allman, bbc news. it's 26 minutes past three which means it's time for the weather with helen willits. after what's been a wet week for some, saturday was a lot quieter. 18 celsius in the south, nearly ten hours of sunshine and only around nine millimetres of rain and the reason was this area of high pressure ruling the roost. but these weather fronts are now starting to nudge that high pressure system out the way, so for the day ahead, increasing amounts of cloud, wind and rain. but ahead of it, we've still got starry skies and through the night, temperatures have been tumbling away — within two or three

degrees of freezing in some rural areas by morning, notably of england and wales — so a touch of grass frost, a little bit of mist and some fog around where we've got the light winds but the winds far from light further north and west — gales or severe gale—force winds are forecast for the day ahead — that's gusts of 60 or 70 miles an hourfor parts of the western isles, the northern isles, too. starting to throw in this really quite heavy rain, several hours of it, across scotland and northern ireland. with it, some squally winds and hill fog, eventually pushing into north—western parts of england and wales. ahead of that, we've got the early morning mist and fog to clear but we should hold onto hazy sunshine across central and eastern areas. 17 or 18 and feeling quite pleasant but clearly, with the cloud, the wind and the rain elsewhere, temperatures will be held nearer 13 or 14. now, the progress of that weather front will continue through the evening and overnight, becoming stuck across southern and eastern areas, but it will be milder through the coming night so, as we go towards monday morning's rush, we may well have a band of wet and relatively breezy weather to contend with in southern and eastern areas. it'll be pretty miserable

during the day ahead with that rain. then, showers follow on that north—westerly breeze, so temperatures taken down a degree or two but some good spells of sunshine and just the odd shower coming through on that brisk wind, which will start to ease away. it will initially be really quite windy across even the north on monday morning and then that eases away and we've got temperatures falling low once again with a touch of frost potentially in a few spots as we head towards dawn, so that'll be more widespread. but then later in the day, we'll start to pick up more cloud and then by wednesday, the next weather front arrives to bring rain, particularly across the northern and western half of the uk — that's this weather system here. but it's all eyes out to the atlantic for later in the week when it looks as if we could have a very deep area of low pressure moving in with a lot of wind and rain associated with it. we'll keep you posted.