unpredictable since the end of the second world war. in northern ireland, the latest efforts to form a new governing executive have failed. there could be new elections by christmas. and why schools that tried to ban pupils from wearing their afro hair tried to ban pupils from wearing theirafro hair in tried to ban pupils from wearing their afro hair in a coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, we have a full round—up in the british involvement in europe with manchester united, arsenal, west ham and all in action. good evening.

the new prime minister rishi sunak has decided not to attend the global climate conference in egypt next month. the decision has been heavily criticised by political opponents and environmental campaigners. downing street says he has other pressing domestic commitments, including the autumn budget. but the decision has been heavily criticised by political opponents and by environment or campaigners. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, has more details. catastrophic floods in nigeria have driven more than a million people from their homes this month, an example of the kind of extreme weather science says will become

more common as our climate changes. and we had a second day of dire warnings from the united nations, underscoring just how urgent the threat is. the world is on track for a rise of 2.8 degrees this century, with devastating consequences for millions of people, the report said. yesterday, un chief antonio guterres told the bbc he wanted rishi sunak told the bbc he wanted rishi sunak to attend. the told the bbc he wanted rishi sunak to attend. , , . ., to attend. the presence of the new british prime _ to attend. the presence of the new british prime minister— to attend. the presence of the new british prime minister will- to attend. the presence of the new british prime minister will be - to attend. the presence of the new british prime minister will be very l british prime minister will be very encouraging for all of us. host british prime minister will be very encouraging for all of us.- encouraging for all of us. host of the glasgow— encouraging for all of us. host of the glasgow summit _ encouraging for all of us. host of the glasgow summit last - encouraging for all of us. host of the glasgow summit last year, . encouraging for all of us. host of. the glasgow summit last year, the encouraging for all of us. host of- the glasgow summit last year, the uk formally hands over responsibility formally hands over responsibility for the un talks in egypt. but today, we learned the prime minister will not be going. no 10 says he's too busy with other commitments, but his predecessor, liz truss, was planning to attend. egypt says more than 90 world leaders, including us presidentjoe biden, will be there. we were the hosts of the last

climate summit, and now our prime minister will be missing in action. and what he obviously fails to understand is that tackling the climate crisis is also the way to lower energy bills, create jobs and give us energy security. it is lower energy bills, create “obs and give us energy security._ give us energy security. it is easy to for: et give us energy security. it is easy to forget the _ give us energy security. it is easy to forget the threat _ give us energy security. it is easy to forget the threat global - to forget the threat global warming presents when the weather is like this. tourists were enjoying a balmy autumn on the french riviera today. but the blistering summer heat in europe and around the world hit harvests of key skies. it's another reason we're paying so much for food at the moment, and another reason we should worry about our changing climate. well, there is no question, huw, the un will be very disappointed that the british prime minister will not be attending the climate conference in a chip. 0nly yesterday the un chief was telling me how important it is that world leaders go to these conferences, they galvanise the process, he said,

encouraging people to reach ambitious agreements, you will remember, huw, liz truss advised charles not to go, so that leaves alok sharma leading the uk at the un it summit in. justin rowlatt, our climate editor, in new york, many thanks. 0ne place where the impact of climate change is increasingly evident is svalbard in the arctic circle. the norwegian islands are warming more quickly than any other place on earth. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake has travelled there for this special report. venture deep into the arctic circle and you find svalbard. there's no place quite like it. and here, a struggle for survival. climate change is on fast forward. polar explorer hilde falun strom wants to show us how her world is disappearing. soon, an incredible sight, but one framed with sadness. to survive as a polar bear now,

i think you have to be super good at hunting, because the main source of food — the seals — they are diminishing and the ice that both the seal and the polar bears are dependent on are diminishing. it's getting less and less ice. this norwegian archipelago is warming six times faster than the global average. there's much less ice here to reflect heat and more exposed ocean to absorb it. these beluga whales are swimming in water that is much hotter than it used to be, and all wildlife here in svalbard is having to adapt to this hotter world. you can hear them now. it's hotter in the water and it's hotter in the air, too. melting here raises sea levels and affects weather patterns across the globe. in what is the northernmost settlement in the world,

it's life on the edge. houses are being moved and rebuilt. new barriers installed to stop more avalanches triggered by the thawing ground. wherever i look around us, i see change. and leading polar scientist kim holmen tells us the war in ukraine is now undermining the effort to understand climate change. official exchange with russian institutions is not possible at this time. half of the arctic is russian coastline, and if we are unable to share knowledge and data, it will hamper our ability to understand what is happening. we need each other in order to do good science. svalbard attracts tens of thousands

of visitors every year, putting further strain on this fragile environment. but the authorities claim they are moving towards renewable energy. now we are in one of the two production sites we have here, we are eight kilometres in the mine. this is svalbard and norway's last coalmine, which we're told is due to close. it makes me sad. it was a mining town and now it's coming to an end. it is more and more of a tourist town. butjust a fortnight after our visit, the state—owned company announces it's delaying the closure. why? it says europe's energy crisis now makes the mine a more profitable operation. if they can't give up fossil fuels in the fastest—warming place on earth, what hope for the rest? the un says we face a climate emergency. the alarm is sounding.

we ignore it at our peril. nick beake, bbc news, in the arctic circle. there are more updates, news and analysis on bbc news 0nline, that's bbc.co.uk/news, and by using the bbc news app. in russia, president putin has warned that the coming decade will be the most dangerous and unpredictable since the end of the second world war. speaking in moscow, he defended russia's actions in ukraine and claimed that the russian economy had survived the worst of the sanctions imposed by the west. he went on to accuse the former uk prime minister liz truss of being a "girl out of her mind" to talk about the use of nuclear weapons. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg reports from moscow.

applause. his war in ukraine has not gone according to plan. but more than eight months in, from vladimir putin, there were no regrets and no remorse. he blamed the west for the conflict and made only passing reference to the human cost of his invasion. translation: of course, - there has been a price to pay, primarily the losses connected to the special military operation. i'm always thinking about that. there are economic costs, too. but there are enormous gains. without any doubt, what's happening now will ultimately benefit russia and its future. it will strengthen our sovereignty. strength is what the kremlin leader is trying to project. this week, he oversaw massive exercises by russia's strategic nuclear forces.

a clear message to the west. don't mess with moscow. president putin was reminded he'd once said that in a nuclear war, russians would go to heaven and the enemy to hell. "we're in no rush to go to heaven, are we?" he asks. there is a long pause. "your silence is worrying me," he says. translation: i paused on purpose, so that you'd be worried. vladimir putin rejected western accusations he's been engaged in nuclear sabre rattling. russia, he claimed, had nothing to gain from a nuclear strike on ukraine. but the fact remains that on the day of the invasion, he'd issued a very public warning, any country that gets in russia's way, he said, would face consequences the like of which they'd never experienced in history. and the warnings continue. according to russian

official nuclear doctrine, russia would launch a strategic nuclear strike against the united states and all the nato countries as soon as we witness the launch of western missiles, no matter how armed they are. against our territories. and then, the whole planet will die. moscow may be hoping nuclear rhetoric will scare the west into reducing support for ukraine. it hasn't so far. bell tolls. what we saw and heard today was the world according to vladimir putin, and it is a world in which he is the go—to guy, and the west is the villain, that is the script the kremlin leader sticks to, and it is why we heard him today accusing the west of igniting the war in ukraine, and it's why we heard him talk about the emergence of a new world order, which he says should be based on law

and justice. which he says should be based on law andjustice. remember, this which he says should be based on law and justice. remember, this is the president who eight months ago invaded a sovereign, independent nation, his neighbour, ukraine. steve rosenberg, many thanks, our russia editor, with the latest analysis there in moscow. the oil giant shell has paid no windfall tax in the uk, despite making global profits of nearly £26 billion so far this year. rishi sunak had introduced the energy profits levy in may when he was chancellor to help pay for support for british households hit by the cost—of—living crisis. today's news has prompted calls for increased taxes on the profits of energy firms. our business editor simonjack is here to explain more. the same high oil and gas prices that are squeezing household and businesses are creating bumper profits at the companies that sell it. shell made £8.2 billion in the three months to the end of september, that's more than double

what it made in the same period last year. so far this year it has made £26 billion. and here's why. this is the oil price. you can see there the spike after russia invaded unkraine. it remained high for several months before falling recently. this is gas, shooting up to eight or even ten times it's long—term average price. companies like shell prospering from circumsatnces and prices they didn't control or expect. so little wonder there are calls to tax thes massive profits. but it's not straightforward — the vast majority of shell's income and profits come from outside the uk. they have operations in 70 countries and those operations are taxed in those countries. on their uk operations they already pay much higher taxes face much higher taxes than other companies. they pay a higher corporation tax of 30% on uk profits plus an extra oil and gas levy of 10%, and since march another 25% windfall tax on uk operations. however, on paper, shell has not

made a profit in the uk since 2017 as it offsets costs to decommission oil rigs and can further offset the recent windfall tax by investing in new uk energy. over the next decade, shell says it will invest £20—25 billion, three quarters of that in low or zero carbon energy sources. but they will also dish out vast sums to its shareholders which include pension funds. watching that kind of money paid out from a uk—headquartered company generates bafflement and outrage but sometimes there are not simple answers to complex problems. in northern ireland, the situation is now at crisis point. the latest efforts to form a new governing executive have failed, so major decisions on public services — including sorting out record nhs waiting lists — are still on hold. business leaders say the political instability is damaging investment and job creation.

back in may, the nationalist party sinn fein for the first time won the biggest number of seats in the stormont assembly. they've called on the dup to support the election of a speaker, so that a governing executive can be formed. but the dup has a different view and it has so far refused. because it believes northern ireland's place in the uk is being undermined by the post—brexit deal signed by borisjohnson. that deal, known as the protocol, sets out the trading arrangements between great britain and northern ireland. goods being transported are subject to checks. the democratic unionists are against that. if there's no deal by tonight, new elections will be called, probably for the 15th of december. there are fears that a new set of elections could lead to more tensions.

0ur ireland correspondent chris page has the latest. eight months have passed since northern ireland last had a functioning devolved government. at the start of another deadline day, the democratic unionist party made clear the stormont shutdown wouldn't be ending. i have the backing of the people of northern ireland who voted for the dup and gave us the mandate that we have to take the position that we hold. that's the backing that matters to me. and if we need to, we will go back to the people and we will seek to refresh and renew our mandate. the other four main parties in the assembly want power—sharing to be restored immediately. as things stand, michelle 0'neill, of sinn fein, is in line to be first minister. in a special recall meeting, she accused the dup of holding most voters to ransom. jeffrey donaldson and the dup are in a perpetual stand—off with the public, the majority of whom they do not speakfor or, indeed, represent. he stood for election,

yet failed to show up. this is his mess and a failure of leadership by him and his party. as expected, the dup blocked the process to put in place a speaker. therefore, we can. proceed no further. the politicians who were elected only five months ago haven't had the opportunity to spend much time in the assembly chamber. now they are leaving it for the last time before the midnight deadline. it's likely that before christmas, they're going to have to ask people for their votes once again. the political system in northern ireland is different to almost everywhere else. it's based on the good friday peace agreement, signed in 1998, after a long conflict. a majority of unionists and irish nationalists must agree to share powerfor a devolved government to be formed. the dup says it won'tjoin a coalition until the brexit trade border in the irish sea is scrapped.

in belfast city centre, people don't seem to like the idea of going to the polls in december. waste of time. waste of time? yeah, because if the dup don't partake... why have an election? the cost of living is a disgrace so, definitely, things need to change. would you be enthusiastic about voting again? no, not one bit. so, will voters use the election to let off steam? this cafe owner is among thousands of business people here dealing with rising costs. she's largely lost faith in northern ireland's politics, as another campaign comes closer. to be brutally honest, i won't open the door because it's an absolute farce. i'm so sick and tired of the same thing over and over again, absolutely nothing changes. and yet again, it is businesses in northern ireland. we are a small business economy,

people in northern ireland are working, we are in groundhog day again, having an election for what outcome? this time, it is all but inevitable that as autumn turns to winter, the ballot box will beckon. so it is about one hour and a0 minutes now until the legal deadline for the devolved government to be formed, clearly, there will be no return to power sharing this time of midnight so it will be over to northern ireland secretary chris heaton—harris who has made it clear he will be calling an election. the leader of the cross—community alliance party naomi long was among those making the point today elections in northern ireland tend to increase divisions between parties and not bring politicians together. most analysts believe in the campaign, the dup and sinn fein may well increase their support. if there is consensus about anything around here tonight, it is that sending voters back to the polls ten

days before christmas is not likely to increase the chances of a resolution to the crisis in the new year. chris, many thanks again. chris page, our correspondent at stormont. let's look at the other stories making the news today. one person has died and four others injured at a stabbing at a supermarket in milan. among those injured in the attack was the footballer pablo mori on loan from arsenal. a6—year—old suspect has been detained and terrorism has been ruled out. seven snp members of the scottish parliament have voted against the scottish government's gender recognition legislation — two abstained. it was the biggest rebellion since the party came to power at holyrood in 2007. the scottish government says the changes would make it simpler and less traumatic for someone to change gender, but opponents fear it would undermine women's rights. the bill cleared its first hurdle by 88 votes to 33.

there are universal ways that should define _ there are universal ways that should define football. _ australia's football squad have released a video message attacking qatar's human rights record — just weeks before the start of the men's world cup. it criticises the treatment of migrant workers and the lgbtq+ community. campaigners here say they don't think anyone from their communities should travel to watch the finals. i'm not aware of a single out gay football fan that wants to go, and i'm told by hundreds of other lgbt+ fans of football, nobody is interested in going. and all the different groups are reporting the same issues, that people don't want to go because it's not a place that lgbt+ people are welcome. a long—awaited memoir by the duke of sussex is due to be published in the new year. prince harry's publisher, penguin random house, said the book will be titled spare and will give the story of his life, including the death of his mother in 1997, and his decision to give up royal duties and move to the us.

despite the ruthless response of the security forces, the protests in iran seem to be escalating. 0vernight, thousands turned out to mark a0 days since the death of 22—year—old mahsa amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for not wearing a hijab properly. the protests have grown to be a wider rejection of the hardline government of iran, with protesters setting fire to some public buildings. our analysis editor ros atkins looks at the roots of the crisis. once more, protests are sweeping iran. once more, they're facing a crackdown. but the violence directed at protesters can't hide that something extraordinary is happening. yesterday, thousands gathered at the grave of a young woman who died last month, after being in custody. and this is a movement now driven by iranian women. bbc persian�*s rana rahimpour has been covering the protests since they began.

six weeks on and many iranian women are already living a different life. they refuse to wear the headscarf when they go out in public and they continue to fight. this is tehran in may. every woman has their head covered. this is tehran this week. not wearing a headscarf is illegal for iranian women. more and more women, though, are ignoring that, something that was unthinkable weeks ago. chanting and every night, people still open their windows and chant, "death to the dictator" — a message they're aiming at iran's supreme leader. these protests were sparked by the death of mahsa amini. she was 22. she's buried in saqez — in the north—west of iran — and with wednesday marking a0 days

since her death, security forces tried to block access to the city, but the protesters would not be denied. i have never been as hopeful as i am today. woman, life, freedom. jin, jiyan, azadi. and all of these protests and acts of defiance come at a cost. videos on social media, verified by the bbc, show people being beaten by security officials. here, we see women without headscarves, defying police. in this video, security forces gathered at a girls' school in tehran on monday. one of them shouts, "we have permission. beat them, beat them all." nationwide, one human rights group estimates that more than 13,000 people have been arrested and that at least 250 people have been killed, including children. and if we go back to 1979, ayatollah khamenei founded iran's islamic republic, and these protests are a direct challenge to the islamic laws that date back to then. listen to this bbc report at the time. there is undoubtedly genuine concern

over exactly what is meant by an islamic republic. the most widely expressed fear is that it could well lead to the kind of repressive religious dictatorship that denies iran the freedoms the revolution is supposed to have brought. women had the freedom to dress as they chose before 1979, but that changed, and some want that freedom back. it's unclear where these protests are heading, but what's clear is that the relationship between the iranian government and its society is completely broken down, and there is no going back from this point on. the authorities insist all of this must stop. but there's no going back for this mother, whose son died in custody. she recently took off her hijab, declaring that the religion it stood for was killing people. 0ne woman's death has become about many women's lives. they say there's no going back to how they used to live. ros atkins, bbc news.

and you can watch more with ros at 20 to midnight tonight on bbc one and the iplayer. that's in ros atkins on the week. and the details to access it are on the screen. schools that try to ban pupils from wearing their afro hair in certain styles are likely to be breaking the law. that's according to new guidance published today by the equality and human rights commission. it says students shouldn't be "unfairly singled out" because of their hair and chosen style. our community affairs correspondent adina campbell has the story. the teacher basically said that it was disgusting, . it wasn't school policy, - and i needed to take it out. we're notjust speaking about what we may typically perceive as a large afro, we're also speaking about protective styles that are often related to communities of african and caribbean heritage. why should i have to cut my hair when people can have their hair all the way down to their hips? just some of the experiences often heard by women

with afro—textured hair. and for ruby williams, her story has been one of the most high—profile cases. she was repeatedly sent home by her teachers because her natural hair wasn't considered to be a reasonable size or length. i was sitting in a lesson and a teacher came and took me out and took me into a changing room in the school and, with her own hair bands, tried to twist the bunches to make them smaller and to make them into buns. and at the time, in my head, i was looking in the mirror and i knew, obviously, this is wrong, i'm not meant to be getting my hair touched by a teacher. this isn't her role. ruby and her family successfully took legal action against her school in east london, funded by the equality and human rights commission. and today, the watchdog has published new guidance, which says people with afro hair should not be prevented from wearing natural hairstyles and, if they are, it's likely to be unlawful. we hope school leaders, if they're going to develop policies,

to really think about how those policies might affect different groups of children and young people. at the moment, this is only guidance, but it is being seen by hair equality campaigners as a significant step forward. black people are disproportionately impacted by hair discrimination at school and in the workplace, according to the equality and human rights commission, and the long—lasting impact, in many cases, can be devastating. i was having to go into my exams and then being escorted from the premises literallyjust because of my hair being out. there was one point, i was sitting doing an exam and, through the door, i could see two teachers waiting for me, to speak to me about the fact that my hair was out. the government says it provided guidance to schools last year to help them adhere to the equality act, with regards to pupils' appearance and the needs of different cultures, races and religions. ruby's school did not accept any liability in her case,

but she hopes today's new advice will better protect girls and boys like her. adina campbell, bbc news. it is 10:30pm. nick is with me with the weather. if you think it is warm here, further south and in africa, the heat is on a different level. we are talking temperatures into the upper 20s, the low to mid 30s. that is where the air is coming from. we are seeing high teens and low 20s. from morocco into spain and into france, these are the temperatures today compared with the long—term 0ctober average. around 10 degrees or more. we know it is warm for the time of year here. it is also rainy at times, too. low pressure to the west, and other wet leste system gathering overnight into tomorrow morning and clearing to sunny spells in the afternoon. —— wet weather system. the latest rainfall picture shows rain appearing here, so turning wet as the night goes on

from south west england and wales, especially northern ireland. as the rain runs into western scotland in the morning, a chance