welcome to bbc news — i'm mark lobel. our top stories... the japanese government issues a rare emergency alert after north korea launches ballistic missiles towards its territory. a surprise peace deal after nearly two years of civil war in ethiopia. it's hoped vital aid can now flow into northern tigray — where 90% of the population is going hungry. there's less than a week to go until the us midterm elections — president biden says democracy itself is on the line. we must have one overwhelming unified voice, speak as a country, and say there is no place, no place, for voter intimidation and political violence in america. and — the legacy of invasion —

how is russia's war on ukraine affecting russians back home? welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. north korea has launched three ballistic missiles, according to the south korean military. warnings were issued in some regions ofjapan, but none of the missiles crossed their territory. the news comes after wednesday's launch of around 20 missiles, including one that landed less than 60 kilometres from the south korean city of sokcho. those launches were described by us secretary of state antony blinken as dangerous and escalatory. north korea appears to be retaliating for the joint military drills that the south and the us have been

carrying out. both sides will know that their actions are potentially destabilising for the reason — so why is it happening? here's our south east asia correspondentjonathan head. there are different perspectives on that. the north koreans have tested more missiles this year than ever before, with the total at well over 60. everyone is expecting an imminent nuclear test. that'll be the first resumption of nuclear testing since the failed diplomacy between mr kim and former president trump, a worrying indication of how far north korea's nuclear capabilities are moving, it is all about whether they can get the nuclear warheads that they test, the eighth test if they hold it, whether they can get those on missiles and the launches of these flurries of missiles are one interpretation.

always an element of guesswork but one interpretation seems to be north korea showing how advanced their missile capabilities are that they can launch multiple missiles at south korea if needed and ultimately of course, if there was a nuclear warhead missile that is an exceptionally alarming scenario, and the war games from the south korean and american point of view are to show north korea how capable the air defence systems are, these were the largest air exercises, and that the north koreans would not control the airspace, that south korea and the us together would deny them airspaice, and they would face a very severe retaliation on the one hand people say this is escalation but on the other hand, given the way in which north korea has been firing missiles, and that is the real question, what is the real motive behind that, i guess the us and south koreans will take the view they have to show them, to deter them from anything drastic. this is the year in which vladimir putin did something no—one thought he would do in ukraine, so nerves

are much more frayed now than in previous years and those exercises were to send a very clear deterrence message. some will say that they also inflame the situation even more. it comes after a worrying two months, an unwelcome trajectory, and if that continues, where do you think de—escalation could come from first? a lot of that comes down to the north koreans. the current south korean government is not the kind that is likely to offer any amazing concessions or peace overtures especially at the moment and especially after these very worrying missile tests. the south korean mood is quite belligerent at the moment, quite indignant. they had a missile cross into what they view as their waters, off the coastline, yesterday, so, it would really have to come down to what the north koreans are doing and that is where the interpretation vary. another nuclear test is very worrying, but it might well be that kim jong—un is trying to shore up his own position domestically.

the north korean economy is thought to be in very bad shape and even possibly going back to famine conditions, and in those circumstances, this may all be about him putting on a distracting show of strength, but there is also the possibility that, and he is talking about this, that he is trying to move his forces towards the ability to mount a nuclear strike or a very severe strike against south korea and that is very alarming, even if he doesn't intend to do it, it makes the situation far more dangerous. jonathan head. after ten days of peace talks — a surprise deal has been reached between the government of ethiopia and rebel forces in tigray — for a permanent cessation of hostilities. the african union's chief mediator — the former nigerian president, olusegun obasanjo — has called it the beginning of a new dawn for ethiopia. it's almost two years since a brutal conflict began in ethiopia's northern tigray region. since then a civil war has left hundreds of thousands dead,

almost five million displaced, and a population on the brink of starvation. the bbc is the first international broadcaster to obtain footage from inside the area since august. our senior africa correspondent anne soy reports. it's a major breakthrough. ethiopia's government has called it "monumental". rebels have agreed to disarm. but there is some level of caution. this moment is not the end of the peace process, but the beginning of it. a previous ceasefire was breached in august. this footage is the first gathered by international media since then. a children's playground, bombed. the ethiopian government has always insisted that they are not targeting civilians. this granny fled some of the most recent fighting. i left my kids and

grandkids, she says. the displaced have harrowing stories to tell. translation: we saw elders being slaughtered, _ women raped and kids killed. we've seen many things. we saw these things, that's why we were frightened and came here. there are many atrocities in this war. people are dying because of the blockade and famine. kids are dying due to a lack of medicine. we are losing people. the region has been cut off from the rest of the country and world for nearly two years now. the people here have been without banking, means of communication and power. aid agencies say almost everyone in northern tigray is in need of food aid. they're desperate for a return to normal life. at mek�*ele's largest internally displaced people's camp, this man struggles to grow food for his family. every harvest is a disappointment. he's desperate to go back to his large farm.

translation: we were working hard and living our lives. - now we have nothing to do. no—one is helping us. we've been here for a year now, and received aid only three times. the new deal brings hope that his and many other families can begin the journey to reconciliation. but its success hinges on the commitment of the warring parties. anne soy, bbc news, nairobi. president biden has said americans must unite in opposition to "political violence", saying democracy itself will be on the ballot paper in next week's mid—term elections. mr biden accused the former president, donald trump and his supporters of undermining democracy and fuelling anger, hate, and violence by refusing to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election. in this moment, we have to confront

those lies with the truth. the very future of our nation depends on it. my fellow americans, we are facing a defining moment, an inflection point. we must have one, overwhelming, unified voice, and speak as a country, and say there is no place — no place — for voter intimidation or political violence in america, whether it is directed at democrats or republicans. no place, period, no place ever. i asked domenico montenaro of npr in the us if the president has a point. donald trump as throwing a lot of this incendiary rhetoric about and that is practically not true at all.

president biden mentioned in this speech that there have been no closer watched election and the 2020 election, there were audits and reviews, but we have got to a point in this country where some 35—40% of the countryjust doesn't believe anything that you or i would say or any independently verifiable facts, if it doesn't agree with their previously held beliefs, and that makes for a very difficult situation, to have a country where trust in elections, has been a thing that set the united states apart from a lot of countries, previously, we still do see that people say that they trust their state and local election officials to conduct fair and accurate elections for the most part, but that number has waned and you are seeing a lot of republicans buying into conspiracy, buying into what donald trump is saying and republican elected leaders going along with that because they know

whether power is, and the base, and they follow trump. joe biden chose the subject to talk about and one wonders whether it will have an impact on independent voters in those key states that he needs to convince and many people just point to the fact that it is the economy, stupid, that is on top of their minds. kevin mccarthy, the republican house minority leader says this was a distraction from the president so that he is not blamed for bad economy. kevin mccarthy is the likely next speaker of the house and now, right afterjanuary six, after the trump rhetoric about what happened injanuary 6th, he was highly critical of the former president so was senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, but they have both made this a bargain, that they knew that the republican base would likely abandeon them and stick with trump rather than sticking with their lives of criticism. i have spoken to a lot of republican strategists who are not necessarily aligned with trump and are not

on his side of things, and they are saying that there has not been an effort, in an organised, consistent way, to take the microphone back from donald trump. he really owns the right in this country, and that is where things are. from a raw political standpoint, it is understandable why they are doing what they are doing but it is a heck of a bargain that they are making. inflation has been the top issue overall in this country, we have seen our polling where republicans are trusted by more than 20 points on that issue. independents are much further down the list on those who are going to go out to vote in a few days so you look, looking at a base election with democrats trying to fire up their voters with reproductive rights as a main issue and republicans hitting president biden on inflation and making that bargain that, if there are people who deny the results of the election, and there are plenty of them who are running, that they will vote for them

as long as they agree with them on policy. domenico montanaro. the united nations says the temperature in europe has risen faster than it has on the other continents over the past 30 years — with increases of more than twice the global average. a new report by the world meteorological organization and the european union's copernicus climate service found that as a result, alpine glaciers have lost 30 metres in thickness since 1997. more than 1.2 million people have been internally displaced in europe between 2008 and 2021 because of floods and wildfires. the report said high—impact weather and climate events had caused more than $50 billion worth of economic damage in the last year. well, for more let's go to sydney where we can speak to professor chris turney — an environmental scientist as well as pro vice—chancellor of research at the university of technology in sydney.

professor, why have european temperatures increased as such an alarming rate?— an alarming rate? there are a number of — an alarming rate? there are a number of factors _ an alarming rate? there are a number of factors ultimately. | number of factors ultimately. the weather patterns have changed quite considerably across the north atlantic leading to changes in sea ice, and as a result what you're getting is lots of warm air passing over the continent and landscape changes as well, and it has been driven, a large part of it, by increased carbon emissions are heating up the atmosphere and driving the new streams that we see.— streams that we see. extremes that we have — streams that we see. extremes that we have seen _ streams that we see. extremes that we have seen over- streams that we see. extremes that we have seen over the - that we have seen over the summer, extreme heat, wildfires. how can europe cope? how do you think europe can cope with these challenges? it is an extraordinary challenge. this is twice the global average over the last 30 years. europe is in a relatively good position if you can call it that because there is this close political integration and it is something we are going to

see a lot more of across the road, sharing resources, supporting one another in our communities, getting protection to fight fires to try to cool down environment, we are going to need increasing change in the way that we manage properties with regard to building codes, and including in this new norm the infrastructure that the continent and the world has to create, to change what we think of as normal. it is no longer normal. of as normal. it is no longer normal-— of as normal. it is no longer normal. ~ ., , ., normal. with the details of the scale of the — normal. with the details of the scale of the challenge, - normal. with the details of the scale of the challenge, do - normal. with the details of the scale of the challenge, do you | scale of the challenge, do you think that world leaders are listening?— think that world leaders are listeninu? ., ., listening? you would hope so, wouldn't you. _ listening? you would hope so, wouldn't you, you _ listening? you would hope so, wouldn't you, you really - listening? you would hope so, | wouldn't you, you really would. we have had so many of these reports, from the ipcc, international panel on climate change came out in the late 80s and here we are 30 years later and here we are 30 years later and things are getting more and more dire. we need leadership. there are some signs of real leadership. it is changing the

investment to tackle this, the biden government has seen a massive increase in investment in things like cleantech, battery technology, we are seeing investments in wind farms and solar panels and energy production across europe, costs are tumbling, we have got to get emissions down, and get them down hard, but the emissions that we saw reduce as a result of car lockdown during lockdown, we need to do that year on year every year, and that was tough for all of us, and if we can start to try to limit the warming from getting above 2 degrees, and we are on course for 2.5 degrees and to put that in context, 1.5 degrees of warming is twice the global average, we have had about1 degrees of warming since the start of the industrial revolution, so when we talk about the paris climate

accord trying to limit warming to 2 degrees, the changes that we are seeing in europe now and around the world are being driven byjust over1 degrees of warming, so even if we get it down to zero emissions and we can limit it to two, the conditions will be a lot more extreme and are going to have to live with that, so these hard lessons that we are learning from covid and all of the tell—tale signs we are seeing, these are going to become the new norm. mil seeing, these are going to become the new norm. all eyes are on the _ become the new norm. all eyes are on the un _ become the new norm. all eyes are on the un climate - become the new norm. all eyes are on the un climate change i are on the un climate change conference next week, what is the one thing you want to see coming out of that conference more than anything, in one sentence?— more than anything, in one sentence? ., , , ., , more than anything, in one sentence? ., ,, ., , :: , sentence? carbon emissions, 50% reduction by _ sentence? carbon emissions, 5096 reduction by 2030, _ sentence? carbon emissions, 5096 reduction by 2030, that _ sentence? carbon emissions, 5096 reduction by 2030, that is - sentence? carbon emissions, 5096 reduction by 2030, that is what i reduction by 2030, that is what we have got to do.— we have got to do. professor chris turney, _ we have got to do. professor chris turney, thank - we have got to do. professor chris turney, thank you - we have got to do. professor chris turney, thank you for l chris turney, thank you for your analysis. stay with us on bbc news —

still to come... # waking up early in the morning... still fab after all these years — the hand—painted video inspired by the music of the beatles. the israeli prime minister, yitzhak rabin, the architect of the middle east peace process, has been assassinated. a 27—year—old jewish man has been arrested and an extremist jewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. at polling booths throughout the country, they voted on a historic day for australia. as the results came in, it was clear, the monarchy would survive. of the american hostages, there was no sign. they are being held somewhere inside the compound, and student leaders have threatened that, should the americans attempt rescue, they will all die. this mission has surpassed all expectations. _ voyager one is now the most distant man—made object - anywhere in the universe, and itjust seems - to keep on going. tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not

from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth but from the enduring power of our ideals. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. the japanese government issues a rare emergency alert after north korea launches ballistic missiles towards its territory. a surprise peace deal after nearly two years of civil war in ethiopia. it's hoped it will allow aid into northern tigray — where 90% of the population is going hungry. let's turn to ukraine now, where many areas have been devastated by vladimir putin's war. but it's worth reflecting on what it has done to putin's own country. in russia there are signs of growing repression and state control, as well as escalating economic problems caused by sanctions and a brain drain. 0ur russia editor, steve rosenberg reports

from st petersburg — on how russia is changing — as the military offensive continues. singing how many in russia want to remember the darker chapters of their country's history? very few. every year they gather to remember the great terror of the 1930s... ..by reading out the names ofjosef stalin's victims, the million he executed, the millions more sent to prison camps. the gulag has gone but fear is returning. "repression is increasing by the week," local politician sergei troschen tells me. you can feel the fear today in russian society. and we can feel we are being watched and filmed. hardly undercover surveillance. for critics of the authorities,

there are consequences. university lecturer denis skopin has just been sacked for immoral behaviour. he had been arrested for protesting against mobilisation for the war in ukraine. he had spent ten days injail. but look at the send—off his students gave him on his last day at work. cheering i love my students very much. they are very smart and energetic. they understand very well what is happening now in russia. denis says many of his colleagues, academics and scientists, have fled russia. russia is losing the best people now, the most educated, the most energetic, the most critically thinking people are leaving the country.

ina in a country that does not have internationally renowned scientists have a future? russian science is dead after 24th of february. and a country without science has no future. and it feels like the past is casting a shadow over russia's present and future. history never repeats itself exactly, but there are worrying parallels between russia's past and the present. underjosef stalin, soviet citizens who fell foul of the authorities were often labelled enemies of the people. after invading ukraine, vladimir putin vowed to cleanse russia of what he called "traitors, scum and the fifth column". to help him do that, president putin has introduced a new patriotic lesson in russian schools. it is called conversations

about what is important. in this "conversation", putin claims that in ukraine, russia is fighting to protect russia. critics call it indoctrination. there are children who just believe, they open their eyes and they are ready to believe in everything. and that is very dangerous. because if there is one thing russian history teaches us, it is this — that if you believe in everything a leader here says and does without question, that can have tragic consequences. steve rosenberg, bbc news, st petersburg. it's more than 50 years now since the beatles called it quits — but they continue to fascinate. the remaining members of the fab four have

just released a new version of their acclaimed album — revolver. accompanying it has been a series of music videos and the latest is a little work of art, as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. # when i wake up early in the morning # lift my head, i'm still yawning...# the mystery and the marvel of the beatles is the way they're rediscovered with every new generation. their music always seems to inspire — essentially art creating art. that was certainly true for em cooper, a film—maker and animator given the chance to turn one of their songs into a living painting. i've always been a beatles fan and when i saw the opportunity to work on i'm 0nly sleeping, it wasjust, like, really amazing. it kind of sparked a huge load of ideas straightaway for me. it's just a beautiful song and it'sjust got so much in it.

using hand—painted animation cells — more than 1300 in total — she built up the work frame by frame, wanting the viewer to be enveloped, consumed — not only sleeping, but dreaming. i'm hoping that what you get is a sense ofjust being kind of swayed or held orjust kind of taken with the stream almost, of the painting. girls screaming the hysteria of beatlemania may have faded just a little, but the legacy of these four lads from liverpool endures. # i'm only sleeping #. not only in their music, but also in the paintings, the videos, the art of those who followed. tim allman, bbc news. i'v e i've seen those living

paintings before, but putting them to music, what a nice touch. i'm mark lobel. from me and the rest of the team, goodbye. hello. there was a stormy end to wednesday — low pressure sweeping rain and gales across the uk. as we move into thursday, though, we'll see some improvements, with some sunshine around. one or two showers, but it will stay quite wet in the south—east as the overnight rain band lingers. and you can see here on the pressure chart, eventually it'll wriggle away as we move into thursday afternoon, but this new area of low pressure will bring increasing showers to the south—west quadrant of the country, along with strengthening winds. you notice the blue hue there on the temperature map. it will feel cooler across the northern half of the country throughout the day today. so a wet, damp morning across the south—east. most of the showers affecting wales and the south—west of england, with increasing winds here, particularly

through the channel. but it will be a blustery day across the southern half of the country. winds slightly lighter further north — that is away from the far north of scotland, and temperatures ten, 11 degrees in the north, at around 12 or 13 in the south, so it will feel cooler for all. for the channel islands, on friday, so winds veering to a more northerly direction and it will be quite cold. temperatures down to freezing across some northern areas in across the country for friday before but most places dry. 11 to 13 or 1a degrees

across the south. so the weekend is looking unsettled. we've got more low pressure working its way in off the atlantic. that's going to bring rain and gales at times. it looks like one frontal system will cross the country on saturday, though. it will tend to weaken as it pushes towards the eastern side of the country, then it's blustery showers, strong winds into sunday and this front bringing some wet weather once again to the south—east corner, so quite a mixed bag through the weekend. like i mentioned, it's wet in the west, showers further east, and then a little bit drier in the north on sunday. very wet across the south—east.

this is bbc news — the headlines... tokyo and seoul say north korea has fired three missiles amid heightening tension in the region. they said one of them was long—range. that prompted the japanese government to issue a rare emergency alert to residents to stay indoors. japan and south korea have both condemned pyongyang's actions. after ten days of peace talks, a surprise deal has been reached between the government of ethiopia and rebel forces in tigray for a permanent cessation of hostilities. the two—year conflict has left hundreds of thousands dead, almost five million displaced, and a population on the brink of starvation. president biden has said americans must unite in opposition to "political violence" — saying democracy itself will be on the ballot paper in next week's mid—term

elections.