this is bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: blackouts and bomb blasts — russia is accused of crimes against humanity after further missile strikes against ukraine's energy infrastructure. ukraine proposes that the security council adopts a resolution condemning all forms of energy terror. the race to find survivors after monday's indonesia earthquake — many of the 271 people who died were children. the pentagon claims us soldiers fighting in syria are being threatened by turkish air strikes, as president erdogan warns of a ground operation against kurdish targets. joy injapan — fans celebrate their team's world cup victory over one of the favourites, germany, in qatar.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. on pbs in america ukraine's president zelensky has accused moscow of crimes against humanity, after fresh russian strikes targeted the country's already failing electricity grid. mr zelensky told an emergency meeting of the un security council that said russia had been methodically devastating cities with indiscriminate attacks, hitting residential buildings, schools, transport and hospitals. millions of people have been subjected to long periods without electricity. translation: ukraine proposes that the security council adopts a resolution condemning all forms of energy terror.

let's see if anyone in the world, along with russia, can say that terror against civilians are supposedly good. there must be no room for terror in the world, that is why we are appealing to our partners to support to protect our skies. we need modern and effective airand missile defence systems. i thank everyone who has already helped. russia is making no apology for its current military tactic — here's moscow's ambassador to the united nations. translation: to weaken and destroy the military potential of our opponents we are conducting strikes with precision weapons against energy and other infrastructure which is used for the purposes of military supplies to ukraine units with western werapons. well, on wednesday, there were several explosions in the capital kyiv. after an air—raid alert was issued for the whole country. the western city of lviv was

reported to be without power — it's now been mostly restored. and in the zaporizhzhia region, a newborn baby was killed when a rocket hit a maternity unit. our europe correspondent, jessica parker, reports from kyiv. smoke clouds signalling destruction has come again to kyiv. this is hundreds of miles away from the front line, but here, this battle also costs lives. in a town just outside kyiv, people's homes and a nearby school felt the force of these strikes. just hours later, the fire's out, but the daylight�*s gone. evacuations in the dark. translation: we heard rockets flying and then . we heard a loud explosion, a colleague saw a red light. in our educational centre, windows and doors blew out, the ceiling fell.

in these freezing temperatures, homes have been left without roofs, apartments without windows, people without a place to live. translation: we are evacuating people from the building - that was damaged. those who need to sleep somewhere, we are taking them to a hotel where they can stay as long as they need. there will be food and heating there. that bus is just leaving, taking residents who can no longer stay in their homes — perhaps because of the damage, but also, there's no power here. the only reason we can see anything at the moment is because of the lights coming from the emergency vehicles, fire trucks and police cars. people here, there's a lot of activity, but they just pass you like shadows. here and in many places, the light of a torch may be all they have as today's strikes forced power stations to shut down. critical infrastructure again appears to have been moscow's target. if this is an effort to break

the will of ukrainians, they help each other on, but it's a painful struggle. "my windows and walls flew away," she says. "don't cry," says her grandson. "everything will be fixed, it will be better." this is driving through a capital city in the early evening, but look around. off the road, no lights. the country's energy system had already been attacked. now the race against winter to repair it just became even harder. jessica parker, bbc news, in kyiv. andrew d'anieri is assistant director at the atlantic council's eurasia center and says western aid is critical to repair ukraine's energy grid. this does look like crimes against humanity or even terror but i think more important than what we call russia's attacks on civilian infrastructure is how we in the west respond.

the us has sent significant air defence systems, the uk has been very helpful in this as well and even europe has sent some air defence systems to kind of help ukraine defend major population centres and strategic infrastructures. we'll keep that going but we will also need to send the critical energy pieces, pieces of electrical equipment that allow ukraine's grid operators to repair the grid and, as president zelensky alluded to there, things like portable heaters so that when power does go out ukrainians are not frozen to death this winter. that has got to be on a pretty massive scale if it is not sticking plaster stuff, is it? because these strikes are also systematic. i mean, there does seem to be a very clear strategy associated with the missile strikes. that is absolutely right. russia is failing

on the battlefield. they failed three times in this war. they failed to take kyiv, they failed in the east and they've been pushed back in kherson and this is the last conventional tactic they have sending bombs and drones on civilian infrastructure. so russian capabilities are weakening. but you're right that this is a massive campaign against ukrainian civilians and so the western response needs to be significant as well in supporting ukraine to make turkey's president recep tayyip erdogan has said the country's military will begin a fresh ground operation against kurdish targets in syria. this comes after four days of strikes in syria and iraq. turkey blames kurdish militants for a bombing in istanbul earlier this month. let's take a listen to president erdogan�*s announcement.

translation: the operations we are engaged in _ with fighterjets, artillery and unmanned combat drones are only the beginning. our determination to seal off all the southern borders with the security line to prevent an attack against our country is stronger than ever. i've been speaking to our news reporter azade moshiri about what more we know about president erdogan�*s about president erdogan�*s plans. there is a real war of narratives here between what he is saying and what the syrian democratic forces are saying. they are the group mostly made up of these kurdish militants that the president is targeting. he says this is all in retaliation for a deadly bomb attack in istanbul that killed six people. and the kurdish militants are saying they have nothing to do with it and instead they had to endure four days

of strikes that have killed dozens of their civilians are not the hundreds of terrorists that erdogan is claiming. despite the competing narratives, the fact is, the president has had these kurdish militants in his sights for years but none of this is new. he even attacked this area only three years ago and so this is a renewed threat and plan to attack these militants and it is also worth noting this is an election year for president erdogan and a president at war tends to play well at home and it is certainly going to be a boost for nationalists at home. it will certainly be a long—running campaign. the trouble is, of course, there are other actors in syria, not least the americans. and they are pretty sympathetic to the kurds in any case. what sort of response are we getting from them? absolutely. this puts the united states in a difficult position

because they have their own operations in syria, they are in fact working with these kurdish militants to attack the islamic state to make sure there is not a surgeons from is and yet they are a nato ally of turkey so that is quite a dilemma and a hard needle to thread for them, the us defence department has said that these operations by turkey, the strikes endangered some of their own personnel on the ground. the problem is the war in ukraine has complicated this. it tends to pervade most world leaders�* decisions and this is no exception because turkey has been a key mediator between russia and the west and the war in ukraine is a huge priority for president biden, much more than syria is right now and so he's going to be very careful about how much he upsets president erdogan especially on an issue that matters so much to him. rescue teams in indonesia have pulled days after a powerful earthquake hit the country.

the boy appeared conscious and calm despite his ordeal to be checked over. there were five people in the house when the earthquake struck, but the boy, his grandfather and his younger brother were the only survivors. well, the latest official figures say 271 people were killed — many of them children — and a0 are still missing. hundreds of others were injured. the national disaster mitigation agency said on tuesday that 22,000 houses had been damaged, government in westminster. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, says she respects the ruling, but accuses westminster of having contempt for the democratic will of the scottish people. our scotland editor,

james cook, has more. passions are running high on scotland's streets tonight. to repeat the deal which set up the last referendum in 2014. a lawfully—held referendum would have important political therefore... to legislate for a referendum on scottish independence. this was not nicola sturgeon�*s preferred path to a referendum, and she admitted the decision was a hard pill to swallow. questions about the basis

and the future of the united kingdom. her response? in all but name. her opponents say that's illegitimate, and even some on her own side worry that it will backfire. but the prime minister said, after a "clear and definitive ruling," it was time to move on. i think the people of scotland i want us to be working on fixing or indeed supporting ukraine. to deny scottish democracy? i'm pleased that the scottish - government has one of the most powerful devolved assemblies anywhere in the world. - so, is this a bleak day for democracy or a triumph for common sense? i think it's a good thing. as far as i understand it, that is not a devolved power.

my personal preference is that we are part of the uk, and proud to be part of the uk. i think that people should have the right to vote about anything that they want without being stopped against any form of civil rights and freedom of speech and freedom to vote, which women like myself have worked so very hard to do. our independence movement also become scotland's democracy movement. so, scotland remains divided. defenders of the union may be quietly pleased tonight, but supporters of independence are making their voices heard. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: fans of world cup favourites brazil decorate their streets and pavements ahead of their team's opening game.

president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world, the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number 10 to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." attempts to fly a hot air - balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed to mind very much. j as one local comic put it, — cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s. it was an alliance that

brought the world to this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: large areas of ukraine are left without power, after the country's military says russian missile strikes targeted energy infrastructure. rescuers in indonesia continue efforts to find survivors after monday's earthquake in westjava — many of the 271 people known to have died were children. beijing says it is facing its most severe covid situation yet as the number of cases continues to soar. schools, shopping malls and parks are closed and restaurants and cafes are not allowing people to eat inside.

china reported 29,157 new infections on tuesday and parts of beijing are now back in lockdown. now to the world of fashion — and a big change at the luxury brand gucci, where the creative director alessandro mikaile is leaving after seven years. he was credited with bringing his flamboyant styles to the brand — but there have been rumours of a growing rift with senior management as stephanie prentice reports: from the red carpet... ..to the runway. alessandro michele became a brand unto himself at events and fashion weeks around the world... ..tripling revenue for gucci and marching it in a new direction when he took over in 2015 — as well as drawing in celebrity fans, including harry styles. but now, the man credited with bringing the italian brand into a more flamboyant and gender—fluid era has crafted his final collection. the french kering fashion group that runs with gucci

as its flagship has announced it will be replacing him as creative director, amid rumours of tension behind the scenes. in a statement, they thanked him for his passion, his imagination, and his ingenuity. so what's next for the brand that brings in two thirds of kering's profits, but is trailing rivals like louis vuitton and dior? insiders say a fresh, creative chapter is needed after almost eight years under michele. for him, in his farewell statement, he advised the designers to "continue to cultivate your dreams, the subtle and intangible matter that makes life worth living". stephanie prentice, bbc news. to the world cup in qatar — another big shock. on tuesday, it was saudi arabia beating argentina. on wednesday, it was japan's turn to produce a huge upset,

beating germany 2—1. germany scored first from a penalty, but two late goals from japan meant germany lost their opening match in a world cup second time in a row. cue ecstatic celebrations from the japanese squad. earlier, there was a goalless draw between croatia and morocco. compare that to 2010 winners spain who beat costa rica 7—0. off the field — more protests. german players covered their mouths for their team photo in an apparent rebuke of fifa's clampdown, on plans to wear rainbow armbands to support gay rights. the last game of the day saw belgium beat canada 1—0. tom byer is a former professional footballer and now works as a youth football

development specialist in japan and has been speaking to me about the reaction in tokyo. yeah, this was a historical victory especially if you consider nearly three decades ago, in doha, japan failed to score a place in the world cup and lost to iraq in extra time so this was a bittersweet win against a big country. it is not a straightforward group they're in. they have spain to play as well but it almost feels like they're in the driving seat now. everybody in the football world here injapan, we were kind of hoping that we could potentially draw with germany, thinking it might be better suited to line—up better with spain and a better chance of winning but that got turned upside down so, yeah, there is no doubt about it, momentum

is injapan�*s favour for sure. it is going to come down to what happens the next few matches. i was covering the world cup in 2002. how much has enthusiasm for the game changed since then, would you say, and how far do you think they can go? football has changed significantly since i arrived here in the mid—1980s. prej—league and i was the first foreigner to play for hitachi andj—league, in the olden days, most of our national team players came domestically from the league which is in this 30th anniversary next year but 19 of the 26 players are playing in europe so in the olden days, these players would grow up watching the europeans play but now they play alongside them so they've got a lot of confidence, we have very good technical players as well which is our strength and i think also if you look at what is happening in the women's game here, a lot of people don't realise but japan is an outlier. the japanese women's team is the only country in the world that has won

all three fifa women's competitions. the senior world cup, the under—17s and the under—20s. so i think that's put a bit of pressure, positive pressure on the men's game as well but football is thriving very well here in this country. it certainly does, the men have to step up a bit. i know you know a lot of the squad there, you mentioned their technique and they are technically very gifted. again, where would you put them in terms of this competition, how far do you think they can go? well, you know, the goal is to get into the final 16 or even final eight. i mean, we never been set up better winning our first game against a big powerhouse like germany. anything is possible. after watching that first half and the contrast between the first half of the second half, and the second half, and that ability to step up, you know, and that comeback, i mean, you've got to believe that they can go probably

the best or furthest that they've gone in the history of playing in the world cup. we have had these extraordinary results one day after the next with the saudis beating argentina. is there something happening in terms of international football? are we finally getting a broader and more level playing field? i think so. you know, if you look historically, the world cup i believe started nearly 90 years ago. there have been 21 world cup tournaments and eight world cup champions that have actually won world cup tournaments and another five countries that have even made it to the final so very exclusive tiny group that advances. afc, the asian confederation here with 47 member associations, we haven't done well historically in world cup tournaments but surely, with saudi arabia in the afc and japan, with korea to play, going to play in a couple of days, things are looking very bright. well, brazil kick off their bid for the 2022

world cup later on thursday, with a match against serbia. they are one of the top contenders to take home the trophy, but as we've seen in the last couple of days — anything can happen. wendy urquhart reports. brazilians are football crazy, and the world cup is their holy grail — so much so that kids get sent home from school two hours before the match gets under way so that they can enjoy it, too. brazil have won the cup five times, which is more than any other country — and they're determined to take home the trophy from qatar. back home, support for the team is brimming over, and in some places the party has already started. men, women and children have been decorating what are known as the world cup streets in the city of manaus in fluorescent colours. translation: i am a designer, and this is very pleasant. - you form a bond with your neighbours, and friendships are strengthened. translation: we're all working to give energy to our team, - and for brazil to be champions.

translation: i am happy to be painting the street i and decorating it for the world cup _ almost every inch of the pavements and walls have been covered with art and cartoons. enormous flags are hanging throughout the city. and, of course, there are pictures of brazilian football legend pele absolutely everywhere. every time the world cup gets under way, thousands of fans flock to these famous streets to soak up the atmosphere and watch the games on enormous tv screens. brazil are certainly not invincible — in 2018, they were knocked out in the quarter—finals and, four years earlier, germany thrashed them 7—1 in the semifinals. they are one of the teams tipped to win the �*22 world cup. but then, so were argentina and germany. wendy urquhart, bbc news. yes, good point. just to let

you know, switzerland versus cameroon, uruguay versus south korea and portugal versus ground. thanks for watching. hello. there is no doubt it has been a soggy november so far. some places have already seen twice the amount of rain they would normally expect in the whole month. wednesday really added to those totals with this band of wet weather pushing northwards and eastwards. lots of heavy, thundery showers with squally, gusty winds following on behind, and all of those weather elements also feature in thursday's forecast. another frontal system pushing in from the atlantic, more heavy rain, more squally winds already showing its hand in the western side of northern ireland first thing. most other areas starting the day dry, but this rain is on the move eastwards. it's moving pretty quickly, so it will be a short, sharp burst of torrential rain and strong winds for northern ireland, southwest scotland — wind gusts widely 40—50 mph,

maybe gusting up to 60—70 mph in exposed spots. the bright colours showing up there across wales, the southwest of england — a really squally band of rain, so as it pushes through, you'll notice the torrential rain, the very gusty winds, but then it clears to a mix of sunshine and heavy, perhaps thundery showers. highs of 9—13 degrees, northeast scotland, eastern england staying dry untilafter dark, but the rain will eventually work its way through. and overnight, into the start of friday, we will see further showers, particularly up towards the north and west, but more in the way of dry weather, some clear spells. temperatures generally 5, 6, 7 degrees — wouldn't surprise me at all if some places gotjust a little lower than that. but friday should be a somewhat drier day with some spells of sunshine. now, there will still be some showers around western coasts across northern ireland, northwest scotland. not many of those showers getting across into the east of the uk. temperatures 9 degrees foraberdeen, maybe 1a there in cardiff, so quite mild for the time of year.

that quieter friday is thanks to this ridge of high pressure, but this frontal system pushing in from the west will bring rain on saturday. eastern areas starting off dry and bright, but we'll see increasing amounts of cloud, and for the western side of the uk, outbreaks of rain splashing quite erratically northwards, perhaps some heavier rain into the southwest later on. but it will be mild, 10—14 degrees, very mild on saturday night, and then that rain may take a while to clear eastwards on sunday, but it will leave behind it some spells of sunshine. bye for now.

this is bbc news — the headlines. president zelensky has accused russia of crimes against humanity. he was addressing the un security council after moscow launched new missile strikes against ukraine's energy infrastructure. much of the country is without power. the us ambassador to the un accused president putin of "weaponising winter" to make ukrainians suffer. rescue teams in indonesia have pulled a five—year—old boy from the rubble three days after a deadly earthquake hit the country. many of the 271 people who died were children. hundreds were injured when the 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the west java region. japan fans have been celebrating their team's world cup victory over one of the favourites — germany — in qatar.