this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. the headlines. people take to the streets in celebration as the ukrainian city of kherson is retaken after months of occupation. the democrats are a step closer to retaining control of the us senate, as mark kelly is re—elected in arizona. we'll be live in washington. the ethiopian military and tigrayan rebels sign an agreement to immediately implement a peace deal that ends almost two years of fighting.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. we start in ukraine, where the government says that victory in the war against russia is �*only a matter of time', after russian troops pulled out of the city of kherson on friday. ukraine regained control of the southern city, but there are reports that kremlin�*s forces are making new fortifications on the left bank of the dnipro river. and russia has chosen a port city in south east of ukraine to be what it calls the "temporary capital" of the kherson region. fears have also been expressed after satellite images show significant new damage to a major dam in the area. catherine byaruhanga sent this report from the capital kyiv. this is the vital kakhovka dam 36 miles north of kherson. it's one of ukraine's biggest hydroelectric power plants. under the cover of darkness,

a massive explosion is unleashed. if the dam collapses, it could cause massive flooding and quickly swamp over 80 settlements, including kherson. images from friday morning show sections of the dam were destroyed. the bbc could not verify the extent of the damage or who caused it. over in kherson city, there have been emotional celebrations after ukrainian forces arrived. people here have lived under russian occupation for more than eight months. many are still without power, water or the internet. however, retreating russian forces still pose a threat from across the dnipro river. we have been warned yesterday by our general staff of the ukrainian armed forces that russians are making new fortifications on the left bank side of the dnipro river, and there is a likelihood

of massive artillery shelling. speaking at a southeast asia summit in cambodia this morning, ukraine's foreign minister warned that other countries could follow in russia's footsteps if action is not taken. violation of borders. use of force. committing mass atrocities against civilian population. if anyone in the world sees that russia can get away easily with all of this, then this someone will be tempted to follow the lead. winning kherson has been a big boost for the national morale, but a complete victory over russia remains elusive. catherine byaruhanga, bbc news, kyiv. let's speak to mariia mezentseva, the ukrainian mp for kharkiv and the head of the ukrainian delegation to the parliamentary assembly of the council of europe.

thank you forjoining us. the recapturing of her son strategically? i recapturing of her son strategically?- recapturing of her son strategically? recapturing of her son strateuicall ? , , strategically? i will be very forward. — strategically? i will be very forward, and _ strategically? i will be very forward, and this _ strategically? i will be very forward, and this is - strategically? i will be very forward, and this is not - strategically? i will be very forward, and this is not a l strategically? i will be very - forward, and this is not a political statement this is something coming on from military personnel of the ukrainian state and president zelensky as well, it is very significant not only to liberate kherson as the capital of the region in the south it is very much linked as well to the other areas of zaporizhzhia very nearby and others, many settlements and many towns in other regions have been under constant shelling daily and this is the payback i would say we are getting from the liberation. processes which are going on. this is something which has synchronised

when the kharkiv region was liberated. a little bit more than six days, some territories were under occupation for longer than six months. indeed, the stories we are witnessing on social media arriving from our members of parliament who are serving on the ground who were participating in liberating kherson are impressive.— are impressive. moving on to the next step. _ are impressive. moving on to the next step, there _ are impressive. moving on to the next step, there are _ are impressive. moving on to the next step, there are two - are impressive. moving on to the next step, there are two things l are impressive. moving on to the i next step, there are two things that people are looking at. firstly, the likelihood of negotiations with russia, their calls ahead of the 620 meeting. but also, the likelihood of russia retaliating. which i'll be likely to see?— likely to see? basically i would refer to president _ likely to see? basically i would refer to president zelensky, i likely to see? basically i would| refer to president zelensky, he likely to see? basically i would - refer to president zelensky, he made it very clear that we don't negotiate with a state which has already been told by the council of

europe and other european countries as a terrorist regime. there is some efforts back in march if we remember the trips of our delegation to minsk, they would not bring any results. we have been through some negotiations with in the format of the oecd, minsk one, minsk two, we know how the russians are negotiating, the deals are not fair. they don't go in line with any possible international law and international law order, specifically at the time of the war. therefore, we don't rely on any promises on the russian side, we see how eager the russians are to put us at the table of negotiations, this is happening with the current terrorist attacks, continuous terrorist attacks, continuous terrorist attacks, continuous terrorist attacks on critical energy infrastructure, civilian infrastructure, civilian infrastructure, they thought it would put our spirits down but it

didn't. it caused a reversal effect. that is why we will stand strong, we have enough resources of gas, we are diversifying with generators and other support coming from the countries which are supporting us across the globe. we will definitely survive this winter and we do not have the fear of the russian army refocusing across the kherson region for the winter... refocusing across the kherson region for the winter. . ._ refocusing across the kherson region for the winter. . .— for the winter... what i am hearing is that ukraine _ for the winter... what i am hearing is that ukraine is _ for the winter... what i am hearing is that ukraine is in _ for the winter... what i am hearing is that ukraine is in for _ for the winter... what i am hearing is that ukraine is in for the - for the winter... what i am hearing is that ukraine is in for the long - is that ukraine is in for the long haul on this. if russia were to say, yes, let us sit down and talk, in terms of those agreements that you mentioned, what would you want to see from russia for you to know that they are being serious? emir; see from russia for you to know that they are being serious?— they are being serious? only the full withdrawal _ they are being serious? only the full withdrawal of _ they are being serious? only the full withdrawal of all _ they are being serious? only the full withdrawal of all troops - they are being serious? only the full withdrawal of all troops from the russian territory, their withdrawal of the troops from the temporarily occupied regions. the

possible zone of further withdrawal even from the russian territory. the 1991 borders to be preserved. all of thatis 1991 borders to be preserved. all of that is fantasies because we are very clear, we are not sitting at the negotiation table is because what we have been witnessing is something that russia is just manipulating. president zelensky is very clear. he wanted negotiations but russia made its choice. now we have to defeat russia. up thank but russia made its choice. now we have to defeat russia. u the us democrats now need just one more seat to keeping their control of the us senate, after the democratic senator for arizona, the former astronaut mark kelly, beat his republican rival for his seat in the us congress. blake masters' defeat means the two parties now have 49 seats each in the senate. there are two races still to call, georgia and nevada, if the democrats win either, they will retain control of the senate.

mr kelly has been speaking in phoenix, arizona in the past couple of hours, celebrating his victory. it was his first speech after the polls result. here's what he had to say. now, after a long election, it can be tempting to remain focused on the things that divide us. but we have seen the consequences that come when leaders refuse to accept the truth and focus more on conspiracies of the past then solving the challenges that we face today. lets cross to our north american correspondence who joins us from washington. very quickly, howe has all of this shaping up at the moment? many people are saying that it hasn't gone particularly well for donald trump himself. that it hasn't gone particularly well for donald trump himself.— donald trump himself. that is certainly true _ donald trump himself. that is certainly true as _ donald trump himself. that is certainly true as far _ donald trump himself. that is certainly true as far as - donald trump himself. that is certainly true as far as trump| certainly true as far as trump endorsed candidates are concerned this election. it is a real

cliffhanger. here we are full days after election day and it is still undecided, the senate race, as you say, 49—49. with the democrats now leading that vital seat of nevada. if they are to retain their majority in the upper house. there are set to be about 20,000 votes still outstanding, still waiting to be counted in nevada. at one point, the republican challenger there was a head by a couple of hundred but there are still votes to be counted in the most populous part of nevada which is clark county, the city that includes las vegas itself, there is every chance that the democratic contender there could make up that lead and tilt it for the democrats. we might not know, however, until monday or tuesday. because today is

actually the last day for postal ballots to arrive and to be counted in that state of nevada.— in that state of nevada. could you remind us why _ in that state of nevada. could you remind us why it _ in that state of nevada. could you remind us why it is _ in that state of nevada. could you remind us why it is so _ in that state of nevada. could you remind us why it is so important l in that state of nevada. could you | remind us why it is so important to control the upper and lower houses? by control the upper and lower houses? by controlling the upper house, the senate, joe biden would be able to put throughjudicial senate, joe biden would be able to put through judicial nominees and so on. the by gaining control of the lower house as well, he would be able to push through legislative measures and so on. contrary to that, the public could block them. we could have stalemate for the next two years for mr biden�*s presidency if the republicans take control of the lower house as they expected. thank you for that. the ethiopian government and tigrayan forces have signed an agreement which lays out the road map for implementation of a peace deal. both sides reached the peace deal in south africa earlier this month. it's agreed now that the implementation of that deal

would start immediately, and it should facilitate immediate humanitarian access to "all in need". 0ur correspondent, anne soy, has the latest. the deal that has just been signed here today breaks down how the deal that was signed previously in pretoria will be implemented. key among them is the disarmament of the rebels in tigray, and the parties have agreed that they will form a joint body to oversee that. it is likely to be a very delicate issue because the question is, who will move first? however importantly, the parties have agreed here today that aid will start moving to the north tigray and neighbouring regions immediately. people are in desperate need of food and medicine and that is a major step that has been taken today. however, people on the ground will be waiting to see when it actually happens.

the bbc has calculated that the number of people who've crossed the channel in small boats this year has now surpassed 40,000 — the biggest number since records began in 2018. just over 28,000 people made the same journey last year. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the latest. when the small boats crossings started in 2018. the number in the first year was less than 300. but if you look at this graphic, you can see that each year it's gone up and up again and up again. and as you say, last year it reached 28,500. well, by last night, we werejust less than 100 short of 40,000. and talking to witnesses and to rescuers today, it's clear that more than 100 have crossed since midnight last night. so that red line has gone over 40,000. and of course, we're only in mid—november and last year, around 8000 crossed in the last two

months of the year. so it's likely that the figure by the end of the year is going to be closer to 50,000 than 40 thousand if the weather stays good. it's very, very awkward for ministers, not least of all, because it makes them look as if they're not in control of the southern coast of the united kingdom, but also because of the risk of people dying. it was only in november last year that 27 people died in a single night when boats got into trouble on the channel. and yes, there's more talks going on with the french to try and increase patrols on the beaches, maybe put some british officers into the french control rooms. but that's not going to make a massive amount of difference to the people crossing in the short term. and yes, while the weather's been bad for the last couple of weeks, ministers have managed to reduce the number of people being held in the manston processing centre. but as the weather's gone good again, those numbers are going to start to rise again.

and they've only managed to get those numbers down by putting people out into hotels. and of course, people are very concerned about the millions of pounds being spent every day on keeping migrants in hotels. you're watching bbc news, our headlines. the ukrainian government says national morale has been given a huge boost by the recapture of the city of kherson. the democrats are a step closer to retaining control of the us senate, as mark kelly is re—elected in arizona. twitter has halted its new $8 blue tick subscription in a u—turn by the social media platform's new billionaire owner elon musk. it comes as a number of accounts impersonating big brands received the blue tick which was previously a signal that the firm had verified the user as being real. the firm's shares fell 4% on friday amid the confusion. joining us now is paul armstrong, who is an emerging technology strategist at advisory firm,

here/forth. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. first off, do you think this is it for the subscription service that elon musk was hoping would generate that all—important revenue? no. i think elon musk has made it very clear that subscription is the way forward for twitter. you can make an awful lot of money throughout at the moment they are making billion pounds through advertising and elon musk wants to stabilise that and make more money through subscription.— through subscription. obviously that would have been _ through subscription. obviously that would have been something - through subscription. obviously that would have been something at - through subscription. obviously that would have been something at the l would have been something at the previous owners had thought about, there must be something about verifying rather than buying your way in? verifying rather than buying your wa in? ~ , , verifying rather than buying your wa , ., , way in? absolutely. verification is essential to _ way in? absolutely. verification is essential to knowing _ way in? absolutely. verification is essential to knowing who - way in? absolutely. verification is essential to knowing who you - way in? absolutely. verification is essential to knowing who you are | essential to knowing who you are reacting with. elon musk is very early in his ownership of twitter which is causing a lot of people to

be quite skittish as he is making very quick moves notjust in the verification space. he has also just fired a lot of staff, that have a lot of knowledge in intricate details when it comes to the verification. tojust details when it comes to the verification. to just make details when it comes to the verification. tojust make hard, quick, broad brush strokes is of a sea not working. the issue when it comes verification is that, for him, he has viewed it as a sort of lord and peasant mentality and that, in my view, isn't correct. it is more of a status to show that the person you are interacting with is an official representative of that brand or maybe themselves. at the moment that is something elon musk are struggling with. [30 moment that is something elon musk are struggling with.— are struggling with. do you think elon musk understand _ are struggling with. do you think elon musk understand social - are struggling with. do you think - elon musk understand social media? i think he has got a very good personal understanding of social media, he uses it very well and whips up stock prices on things like that. i think you could argue, what he is doing is getting interest back into twitter which is something they haven't seen in a few years. it is getting a lot more daily users than it has done recently. that's

something. he is also tweeting a lot more personally. i think it is 25 times more per day than previously when he was not the ceo. that is something that is interesting from a couple of levels, number one, obviously the future, if that sustainable? you could argue more users equals more opportunity to make money for him. but equally, can he keep it up, keeping everyone's interest going. he keep it up, keeping everyone's interest going-— interest going. people are saying what other options _ interest going. people are saying what other options does - interest going. people are saying what other options does he - interest going. people are saying what other options does he have | interest going. people are saying l what other options does he have to generate revenue? in terms of people who are thinking of going elsewhere, what other options are there out there? ., ., , ., ., there? there are lots of social media options _ there? there are lots of social media options out _ there? there are lots of social media options out there - there? there are lots of social media options out there from | media options out there from facebook to snapchat, they offer different things at different levels. 0n different things at different levels. on a similar, 1—1 level there is a site called mastodon which is essentially a decentralised version. they have said they have got over 1 version. they have said they have got over1 million people over. to put that to perspective, twitter has

238 million users. it is a very different offering. a lot of people have said they are never going to pay elon musk eight dollars per per month to use twitter. i think we have to ride this one now and see where people land. at the moment we have a lot of options including mastodon. have a lot of options including mastodon-— have a lot of options including mastodon. . ~' , ., , . spending cuts of about £35 billion and plans to raise some £20 billion in tax in the coming years are expected to be set out in thursday's autumn statement. 0ur political correspondent ben wright is here with more details. in the meantime, for those of you that have been following a certain reality tv programme,

meanwhile, on the itv programme i'm a celebrity get me out of here, a celebrity get me out of here, former health secretary, matt hancock, has reiterated his regret for breaking social distancing guidelines during the covid pandemic — and said he was looking for "forgiveness". it followed him facing some critical questions from his celebrity campmates about his role as health secretary at the time. let's take a look: my aunt died from covid in the first wave. we couldn't go to hospital to visit her. i had to sit by myself in the church at her funeral. we couldn't hug each other because we were following guidance. yeah. and i get that you fell in love, i understand all of those things, but sorry for a lot of families like mine doesn't really cut it. well, there you go, that is one of the reasons that i... that i regret it as much as i do. do you have any regrets regarding the way that as health minister you dealt with the pandemic as a whole?

so the pandemic as a whole, no, i'm much, much more robust in my defence of it. even with ppe and with carers? yeah. and with old people's homes? yeah, ppe for instance, of course i know, i saw it happen, but that's because we suddenly needed much more ppe and so did everybody else in the world and care homes, the reasons for the decisions that were taken and ultimately those problems were caused by the virus, not the people who were trying to solve the problem. well earlier we spoke to a member of the covid—19 families for justice group who lost her uncle during the first wave of the pandemic, helenjeffries, for her reaction to matt hancock's latest comments on the programme. i haven't watched i'm a celebrity, deliberately because of matt hancock, butjust hearing that really hurts and my experience was similar. i lost my uncle at the peak of the first wave and could not go and see him. he saw nobody close to him

in the ten days before he died. and his funeral was on may the 20th, which was the day of the infamous party in the rose garden at downing street. again, ourfuneral was very much socially distanced. i did not hug my dad. it is still there, it still hurts and i watched a little bit of the jungle for this piece now and chris moyles is right, what does he want forgiveness for? if it is for having an affair, i don't care. let's speak to stanleyjohnson, father of the former prime minister borisjohnson, and who himself was a contestant in the jungle in 2017.

you have written an article saying matt hancock could win the competition, is the rehabilitation working then? i think he is on a kind ofjourney of redemption, although precisely what he is being redeemed from needs to be established, but he is on that journey. i think people watching that film, watching it day after day, i have seen him now on three occasions, he burrowed in and came out of the tunnel, he did this thing called tentacles of fear and got 12 stars then he went to... i think there is a case here that he is working something out. i think people that are watching in the jungle and possibly those who are watching outside are beginning to understand that. i personally didn't

go on to make a political point, i am an environmental campaigner but i do believe in working through the political process because i was delighted when he went into the jungle because i was horrified when the government to put forward this plan to scrap heaven knows how many regulations which means you probably won't be able to meet our international targets. i was personally rather please. leaving that aside because that is obviously a personal argument, that aside because that is obviously a personalargument, i do that aside because that is obviously a personal argument, i do think what we are witnessing here is fantastically good television. it really is. i tell you, i was there, and i used every opportunity to talk about things which interested me. 6iving him his credit, he has been raising the issue of dyslexia, for example, and we've had an amazing amount of publicity now about the dyslexia issue. ithink amount of publicity now about the dyslexia issue. i think you have to have credit for that. i suspect he is going to give a huge amount of money to the dyslexia organisations.

don't devalue him, he is doing a job, and in a purely technical way, someone who has done all of those trials, i can tell you he has been brilliant. ~ , ., , brilliant. when you say he is workin: brilliant. when you say he is working something - brilliant. when you say he is working something out, - brilliant. when you say he is. working something out, there brilliant. when you say he is - working something out, there are two points there, is he working out an alternative new career? and, in working hard for dyslexia, he has a job. he has an mp. this is one of the arguments that people are having, that is one job. the arguments that people are having, that is onejob. the the arguments that people are having, that is one job. the other thing is, there is a lot of hurt when it comes to the pandemic and what families went through. is the jungle the right place for this to be playing out? you have been there. there are so many dynamics that are taking place up iiet’s there are so many dynamics that are taking place up— taking place up let's 'ust take the first oint, taking place up let's 'ust take the first point. yes. _ taking place up let's 'ust take the first point, yes, he _ taking place up let'sjust take the first point, yes, he has _ taking place up let'sjust take the first point, yes, he has a - taking place up let'sjust take the first point, yes, he has a career. | taking place up let'sjust take the | first point, yes, he has a career. i personally think he has a career as a public personality and he has reached almost the very top of the tree. my point, i see an

environmental problem, 0k he is without the whip, he can lead the battle which might be a good thing. but, more important, ithink battle which might be a good thing. but, more important, i think you have got to take him for his word on the dyslexia point. we don't necessarily see all of the things he is saying on the jungle because the cutting room floor is a pretty voracious place and i said lots of things about biodiversity and climate change and they in fact very few of them came up, but in the final interview that you have with the people as you come out you can say what you want and i expect for him to say well i'm going to give £200,000 for the dyslexia charity and that will be worth it. unfortunately we have run out of time. for now, thank you very much. spending cuts of about £35 billion and plans to raise some £20 billion in tax in the coming years are expected to be set out in thursday's autumn statement.

0ur political correspondent ben wright is here with more details. there are a lot of people waiting to see what will be unveiled on thursday. see what will be unveiled on thursday-— see what will be unveiled on thursda. �*, , ., , ., see what will be unveiled on thursda. �*, , . , ., ., thursday. it's 'ust a statement, not a buduet, thursday. it's 'ust a statement, not a budget, but— thursday. it'sjust a statement, not a budget. but it _ thursday. it'sjust a statement, not a budget, but it will— thursday. it'sjust a statement, not a budget, but it will feel— thursday. it'sjust a statement, not a budget, but it will feel like - thursday. it'sjust a statement, not a budget, but it will feel like a - a budget, but it will feel like a budget. the autumn statement will be the defining political and economic moment of rishi sunak�*s 6overnment moment of rishi sunak�*s government and the consequences and legacy of this will last for years in terms of taxes and public spending. we know that the size of the fiscal hole, the gap between what the government spends and what... they are the raw numbers the chancellor is dealing with and he has already warned as he approaches the statement. we won't know the exact details about the plan until the chancellor stands up

on thursday but sources close to the spread seats are giving us some sense of what is likely to be in this plan. 0n taxes,... there is a way to develop more revenue from all of us by freezing tax thresholds where they currently are. so, the more people and as their wages go up, if the tax thresholds are frozen then they end up paying more and that can combine billions of pounds of the treasury and we think that the tax thresholds will be frozen across the board. sources are also indicating that the highest—paid could start paying the top rate, 45p, when they earn £125,000 per year. the current rate, at the moment, that kicks in at 250,000 but that threshold could come down to 125,000. a lot of money, i think, that the government is hoping to raise on the tax front. when it comes to public spending, we expect a freeze to continue in terms of

departmental budgets until at least 2025. everybody will know that public services are under massive strain at the moment, inflation is eating away at their spending power, so a freeze to public spending will have quite an impact.— so a freeze to public spending will have quite an impact. thank you very much. have quite an impact. thank you very much- more — have quite an impact. thank you very much. more over— have quite an impact. thank you very much. more over the _ have quite an impact. thank you very much. more over the coming - have quite an impact. thank you very much. more over the coming hours. | much. more over the coming hours. let's find out how the weather is looking. it is unusually warm across the united kingdom. yesterday was the warmest armistice day on record and tomorrow for remembrance sunday, we may see very low temperatures yet again. 0vernight, with the southerly when is continuing, our temperatures will hold up. we may well see some cloud returning across eastern england and mist and fog drifting in from the north sea down some of our eastern coast. 0ur overnight temperatures they will look rather more like the figures we would expect by day at this point in november. for remembrance sunday, a lot of fine and dry weather, cloud bending back in many areas but tending to linger in some spots along the north sea coast.

6ets windier towards the west later in the day and we will see some rain in northern ireland and the south—west after dark but take a look at the temperatures. 16, 17, 18 degrees maybe even 19 degrees in the odd spot above 7—8 above average for this time of year. does get a little cooler into the week. the headlines... people take to the streets in celebration as the ukrainian city of kherson is retaken after months of occupation. about £35 billion of spending cuts and plans to raise some £20 billion in tax are expected to be announced byjeremy hunt on thursday. the democrats are a step closer to retaining control of the us senate, as mark kelly is re—elected in arizona. the ethiopian military and tigrayan rebels sign an agreement to immediately implement a peace deal that ends almost two years of fighting.