this is bbc news. i'm reeta chakrabarti. our top stories. russia launches more than 80 missiles at ukraine — the head of the un. we are rolling the dice here and there will be a day when our luck will run out. you can government — day when our luck will run out. you can government formally delays sections of h52 in a bid to cut costs. the georgian government drops a controversial draught law which would limit press freedom and civil liberties in light of violent protests in the capital. tens of thousands of people take part in

demonstrations against proposed reforms to the digital system in israel. tens of thousands of people take part in demonstrations across israel against proposed reforms to the judicial system. and bbc presenter gary lineker says he stands by his comments attacking the uk government's latest immigration policy. hello. the head of the un nuclear watchdog has demanded immediate action to prevent a disaster of the russian occupied zaporizhzhia in ukraine. remarks come after at least nine people were killed. at least nine people have been killed as the country has again come under sustained russian missile attack. ukraine's military says russia fired nearly 90 missiles and drones. and many people — including in the capital kyiv — remain without power. the areas on this map show some of the locations hit by the strikes.

also hit was the only functioning power line used for electricity to cool the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is occupied by russia. power has since been restored. earlier, my colleague geeta guru—murthy spoke to rafael mariano grossi, the director general overnight, we had news from our team of experts at the plant that due to a series of attacks, by the way, have covered most of the territory of ukraine, as i think you have been reporting, there have been a complete cut of the off site power lines, thereby letting the plant without any source for its cooling systems, which are, of course essential for the safety of the reactors. hence the emergency systems, the emergency generators kicked in. and so they have been, i mean, the largest nuclear power plant in europe, for the sixth time since the beginning of the war, has been working on emergency diesel generators, which is absolutely mindboggling. what i can say is that at the moment, people are working

to try to repair 750 kilowatt line. that was the one that was affected so as to be able to stop the emergency systems and keep cooling the plant in a normal way. apart from the incident, how fragile how terribly the iaea, the agency, the nuclear agency that i preside, has been working relentlessly to try to set up some protection mechanism around the plant. and is that working at all? it's very difficult, i must say. i have been i started my negotiations back in september. i've been several times in kyiv and in moscow. i've seen, of course, many times my natural interlocutor for this, who is the president of ukraine, volodymyr zelensky. i've also met with president putin to tell you the degree of importance i suppose both sides give to this

problem, but so far we have not been able to come to a point of agreement. we have been making progress, i think i have been making progress. but there's always something some some additional point, some additional expectation. and as we can see, and i said today to the board of governors of the iaea, we are rolling a dice here, and there will be a day when our luck will run out. so i have been making very serious appeal for everybody to support the iaea in setting protection for the plant. this has nothing to do with the military operations. this is militarily neutral, but it could, of course, spare us all from a catastrophic accident. what would that accident mean if it was to happen? who would be affected and in what way? well, it would, of course, depend

on the dimension of the accident, how many reactors will be affected and what kind of radiological release you would have. so you could have different scenarios. it is like saying how bad is going to be the crash that i'm going to have? well, you know, you're going to have a crash, try to avoid it, then it could be a complete disaster or you could be less harm. it depends, but we don't want to try this. so the idea is to to avoid this by establishing a commitment on both sides on something which is very simple. and i think the audience will understand it very, very easily. don't shoot at a nuclear power plant. rafael g rossi rafael grossi there. as we mentioned — many residents in ukraine remain without power after this fresh round of strikes. our diplomatic correspondentjames landale filed this report. this is what a cruise missile can do. a residential part of lviv

in the far west of ukraine. homes turned to rubble. streets torn apart. lives turned upside down. in all, five people died here. this may be hundreds of miles from the fighting, but this morning, it's very much on the front line. in all, russia launched more than 80 missiles, more than 40, getting through the air defences, many striking energy infrastructure here in southwest kyiv, but also in cities like odesa in the south and kharkiv in the north. crucially, shelling cut off power to the zappa region nuclear power plant, the largest in europe, currently under russian control. it's now running on diesel generators, but the risk of reactors overheating is real. much to the concern of the un nuclear watchdog. in a residential area in northwest kyiv, cars were damaged by falling debris and shrapnel after a russian drone was shot down in the sky.

two people were injured and taken to hospital. there was an explosion in the sky. i saw smoke and fire. viktor told us how his car was damaged and how he tried to help his neighbours. the cars were set on fire. we took fire extinguishers from our vehicles to try and put them out, but it didn't succeed and the fires spread. the firefighters then arrived and put it all out. i'm fed up with it. can't stand all this. i don't have the strength any more. why are they doing this? they're not acting like humans. they're scaring the children. these strikes might have been targeted against energy infrastructure, but here not so much. as you can see, cars damaged, some of them destroyed and burnt out all around me. there's windows have been blown in and the residents blocks and over here, debris litters this children's playground.

meanwhile, fighting continues in the east, with ukraine appearing to bolster its forces near bakhmut. despite reports of a possible withdrawal, commanders said the importance of holding the city was growing. james landale, bbc news, kyiv. let's cross to the global affairs analyst michael bociurkiw, who is the senior fellow at the atlantic council think—tank, and who isjoining me live in odesa. hello to you and thank you for joining us. you are in odesa which was attacked overnight. where were you when this happened. i was was attacked overnight. where were you when this happened.— you when this happened. i was here in m flat you when this happened. i was here in my flat in — you when this happened. i was here in my flat in central _ you when this happened. i was here in my flat in central odesa - you when this happened. i was here in my flat in central odesa and - you when this happened. i was here in my flat in central odesa and in i in my flat in central odesa and in fact i'm just two or three blocks away from odesa port, but the attacks have as you know, have been over several hours all over ukraine. odesa was relatively quiet but we did suffer from odesa was relatively quiet but we did sufferfrom being hooked into the national grid hence there were a

lot of power outages here today. interestingly, when i walked by the odesa port which is part of that black sea grain initiative. zero activity. it did not look like they had power there is so it was an interesting observation as well as black traffic lights and shopkeepers taking out diesel generators act after putting them away several days ago. one more point, people looked very sad because as of yesterday after several days of calm. it was felt like life had returned to normal and then this huge massive attack to happen. how normal and then this huge massive attack to happen.— attack to happen. how safe do you think peeple _ attack to happen. how safe do you think people feel— attack to happen. how safe do you think people feel now? _ attack to happen. how safe do you think people feel now? there - attack to happen. how safe do you| think people feel now? there must attack to happen. how safe do you - think people feel now? there must be a strong sense of anxiety. there think people feel now? there must be a strong sense of anxiety.— a strong sense of anxiety. there is but on the — a strong sense of anxiety. there is but on the other— a strong sense of anxiety. there is but on the other hand _ a strong sense of anxiety. there is but on the other hand i _ a strong sense of anxiety. there is but on the other hand i think- a strong sense of anxiety. there is i but on the other hand i think people have gotten used to this. we are well into a year now. many people do go to their bomb shelters, but there are huge disruptions for example— schools that do not have bomb

shelters have to close down when the air raid sirens go off. in the past while, these air raid sirens have lasted quite a while so massive disruptions and i'm thinking of millions of creamy refugees who were planning on coming back here, when they see the sort of news it may deter them from coming back a bit longer. deter them from coming back a bit loner. ., ., ., longer. you mentioned the grain initiative. this _ longer. you mentioned the grain initiative. this is _ longer. you mentioned the grain initiative. this is the _ longer. you mentioned the grain initiative. this is the deal- longer. you mentioned the grain initiative. this is the deal signed j initiative. this is the deal signed and brokered by turkey and the un last year to allow green to leave from odesa. the black sea grain initiative. that will be renewed in under ten days' time where are we on that? fits under ten days' time where are we on that? �* , , ., under ten days' time where are we on that? ~ , i. ~ ., that? as you know the un secretary-general - that? as you know the un secretary-general was - that? as you know the un secretary-general was in l that? as you know the un - secretary-general was in kyiv the secretary—general was in kyiv the other day and he was talking to the ukrainians about the renewal deal. i think he needs to probably go to moscow to convince them to renew the deal. it boggles the mind that russia has its signature on this deal and yet they bomb critical

infrastructure, power plants, that power odesa port. i could tell you that for the past two or three days, there has only been one carrier there has only been one carrier there coming from egypt. at there about five ships waiting on the horizon. so there is some sort of bottleneck either here because of the power or in istanbul where russian inspectors are accused by ukraine of delaying clearance of ships headed from ukraine to istanbul to world markets. we will have to leave _ istanbul to world markets. we will have to leave it _ istanbul to world markets. we will have to leave it there. _ istanbul to world markets. we will have to leave it there. thank - istanbul to world markets. we will have to leave it there. thank you i istanbul to world markets. we will. have to leave it there. thank you so much. opposition has said it will keep fighting against what it sees as russian inspired attempts to curtail freedom and to derail the countries pro—european ambitions. the president has

congratulated the georgian public for making its voice heard. our correspondence at this report from the georgian capital. after two days of mass protests in the georgian capital tbilisi against a controversial foreign agents bill, the government announced on thursday morning it was withdrawing the draft legislation to keep the peace. the bill would have targeted non—governmental and media organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. last night, police used water cannons and tear gas to clear the streets of thousands of pro—western georgians opposed to the bill. protesters fear this law threatens georgia's chances ofjoining the european union and will take the country back into russia's orbit. i'm here along with all these people to guarantee that there will never be russian rule here ever. many georgians believe the legislation was introduced

here to weaken their own democracy. western funded civil society organisations, the primary target of this legislation, play an important role holding the government to account. what this law is really about is making it possible for the government to stigmatise, marginalise, and eventually silence organisations and media that are critical of the government. though the government has promised to withdraw the bill, protesters say the fight is not over yet. georgians opposed to this legislation believe this is a pivotal moment for the country, that this fight is at heart a fight for their own freedom. and freedom here means joining europe and escaping russia's influence. protesters have promised to return to the streets until they have guarantees from the government

that there will be no russian style law in georgia. rayhan demytrie, bbc news, tbilisi. tens of thousands of israelis have taken part in the latest day of demonstrations against the government's proposed radical overhaul of thejudicial system. protesters tried to block the roads around tel aviv airport, forcing the prime minister benjamin netanyahu to take a helicopter there. opponents of the plan say that it's a threat to israel's democracy. our middle east correspondent tom bateman has been at a protest — and filed this update. this is the main road that runs north—south in tel aviv. you can see the protesters. they breached the road, the police had been trying to stop them, they came down here, jumped over the fence, we followed them over as we were filming, they got on the road and blocked it. this is exactly what israel's far right police minister said

he would not accept. he called these protesters anarchists. you can hear them chanting for democracy. we are just going to stop here and you can see the mounted police here. we watched as the mounted police came along the street, the protesters dug in, dozens were sitting on the road, and at that point they pushed them back. and there is now more of a stand—off. we saw one man being dragged away, arrested. so what is this all about? this is all about the new nationalist israeli government led by benjamin netanyahu pushing through a series ofjudicial reforms that would, as its critics say, strip the israel supreme court of his independence and would stack the judiciary in favour of the government. it is led to increasing protests over the weeks, now we think things culminate even further and the way this is spread

is also unprecedented, into israel's military, its security forces, we have seen this week, reservists in israel saying that they would refuse to serve, training because of this issue. they say this as israel turning into a democracy. we are now seeing a bit more movement with the protesters he ever the government, for its part, says that they are just trying to restore the balance between the executive and the judiciary and that is not abnormal but it has led to increasing tension and increasing clash here over the future of this country. all of this is meant to be as benjamin netanyahu is due to fly out to italy for a state visit, protesters have been trying to block the main airport, he has given an interview to the italian media, in the run—up to that, he said that all of this proves that israel is a thriving democracy, as many critics here say

he is trying to destroy that. the bbc�*s highest paid presenter gary lineker says he's "looking forward" to hosting match of the day on saturday. earlier, he said he was standing by his criticism of the government's asylum policy after likening the language used by ministers to that of nazi germany. downing street called his remarks "unacceptable". in a tweet, lineker said... our media correspondent david sillito reports. as he left home today, gary lineker didn't have a lot to say about the furore about his comments about the government's policy on migrants. he did say he stood by his words and he was asked if he feared suspension. do you fear getting suspended? no. but he had a little to say about what the director general of the bbc may or may not have said to him. has the director general said anything to you?

what has he said? he said, "well, we have a chat. we chat often. anything about the tweet, gary? do you regret sending the tweet at all? no. the tweets which have led to all of this began with a description of the home secretary's statement as "beyond awful." he then defended the statement, saying the policy was "immeasurably cruel" and added that the language used is not dissimilar to that used by germany in the 30s. does my friend agree that the requirement to be politically impartial must cover all those who are presenters on the bbc, including the highest paid? in the commons today the culture secretary said those comments were disappointing and inappropriate. it's important for the bbc to maintain impartiality if it is to retain the trust of the public who pay the licence fee. the bbc is operationally independent and i'm pleased that the bbc will be speaking to gary lineker to remind him of his responsibilities in

relation to social media. that conversation, the bbc said, was going to be frank, but further than that, no one's said anything yet. david sillitoe, bbc news. and the uk's home secretary has responded to gary lineker�*s comments about her immigration policy, saying his characterisation is offensive and "diminishes the unspeakable tragedy" of the holocaust. suella braverman has been speaking to nick robinson on the political thinking podcast. i think it is, from a personal point of view, to hear that kind of characterisation, is offensive. as you said, my husband isjewish, my children are therefore directly descendant from people who were murdered in gas chambers during the holocaust. my husband's family is very, you know, feels very keenly the impact of the holocaust, actually.

to throw out those kind of flippant analogies, diminishes the unspeakable tragedy that millions of people went through. i don't think that anything that is happening in the uk today can come close to what happened in the holocaust. ifind it a lazy and unhelpful comparison to make. the uk government has announced a delay to the construction of certain sections of britain's new high speed rail line, known as hs2 to save money. the delay is likely to affect sections from manchester to crewe and birmingham to crewe. the project has run billions of pounds over budget and is years behind schedule. hs2 is the uk government's flagship transport levelling up project and the largest infrastructure

project in europe. it's been revealed that the former boss of the energy company shall who was paid £10 million last year up 50% of his pay in 2021. shell reported the highest annual profits and it's 115 reported the highest annual profits and it's115 year history last year after a surge in energy prices following russia cosmic invasion of ukraine. six people killed in nigeria's capital. a train collided with the bus during rush hour in reports indicate that at the time of the accident there was no barrier separating the railway line from the main road. our west africa correspondence has the latest from the capital. in this hospital in ikeja on the mainland of lagos. patients have been brought

and are being triaged in these white tents that you can see behind me. they've been set up very hastily to a lot of patients to be sorted out and prioritised. makeshift mattresses have been put on the floor. people are waiting for doctors to attend to them. dozens of family members are also here trying to find their loved ones. the accident happened early this morning as commuters were heading into work. a train and a bus carrying commuters collided in a junction that didn't have any barriers when we visited the scene earlier today. a lot of bystanders were very angry. they said there should be a barrier separating the road from the tracks. the rail network coming in and out of lagos has expanded massively in the last five years, but manyjunctions are missing basic features like barriers, like any kind of signal to tell traffic to stop. at the moment, authorities say that the death toll stands at six and that 71 people have been injured, 29 of them critically, and many of them have been attended to in hospitals like this one.

in100 in 100 days' time one of the biggest offence begins in berlin. the special olympics world summer games features over seven thousand competitors from nearly 200 nations. it's the biggest celebration of sport for people with intellectual disabilities — and for british competitors, it's a huge opportunity. atjust 15 years of age, taylor mackenzie from dundee is the youngest member of the british team, and joe wilson has been to meet her. every day after school taylor mackenzie trains. all that commitment for this moment. oh, my god! yes, she's going to the special olympics world games in berlin. i got accepted into the so gb team. wahey, that's amazing! i struggle in school quite a bit, so i'd say swimming kind ofjust blows all that out, and itjust is a better thing to focus on. it gives me something to express my feelings and how i am. taylor has autism and a learning

disability, but swimming is her identity. something exceptional happened when she was five. she got out of the water and then she says, "..touching water." - and we looked at each other. and went, "what did she say?" and it was the first time we had actually heard her speak. - when taylor started achieving at galas, i think she realized that she actually could do something well and that she could be like any other person in the pool. in the pandemic, taylor trained in the garden with a piece of bungee rope. brilliant. but everything changed. and across all levels of intellectual disability, sport is often crucial. for our athletes, the pandemic has created a lot of challenges for them. they've lost their structure. they've lost their social connection. they've lost their support. they've lost that sense of being and belonging. so being able to have the world

games come back with a bang is so significant for us in the movement. taylor's training for berlin alongside mainstream swimmers. she gets clear, concise instructions. to be honest, what works for taylor when we are adapting it that way, works really well for the other kids as well. so break it down in the way that taylor understands but you're helping everybody. ah, that's inclusion in action. that is the special olympics represented by taylor mackenzie. joe wilson, bbc news, dundee. is really after whose career was defined by fiddler on the roof will has died aged 87. the israeli actor topol, whose career was defined by the musical fiddler on the roof, has died aged 87. chaim topol won international fame playing the milkman tevye in the hollywood version of the musical — and he played the part on stage

more than 3,500 times. his credits also include a role in the 1981 bond film for your eyes only. you can reach me and some of the team on twitter. you are watching bbc news. hello there. plenty more snowfall to come across much of the northern half of the uk in particular over the next couple of days or so, with strong, gusty winds, too, at times leading to blizzard—like conditions. this is powis in wales. we're starting to see the snowfall stack up here. there are three amber weather warnings in force issued by the met office, the first for northern ireland, the second for north wales, into parts of shropshire, where there could also be some freezing rain falling — treacherous driving conditions here — and the third from the north midlands, northwards into the pennines, particularly high snowfall totals for here. now, why is this all happening? well, we've got a pair of low pressure moving eastwards over the next 21t hours or so, but it's pretty much stalled

across the central swathe of the uk. there are some strong gusty winds, cold air towards the north, much milderfurther south. all of this across southern england and south wales is falling as rain, but there could be some heavy, thundery downpours as we head through the rest of the day. but of course, all the concern is for within these warning areas, where the snow willjust keep on falling for the rest of the day and it will be very windy. blizzard—like conditions and drifting snow possible, a range of temperatures. look at this, 12 or 13 celsius in devon and cornwall in that much milder air towards the south. overnight tonight, the snow will continue to fall for many, drifting snow and blizzards, so treacherous driving conditions. and on the edge of this area of low pressure, some very strong, gusty winds, too, for exposed coastal areas of the far south—west and into the channel islands. but tricky travelling conditions for much of the country, particularly for transpennine routes. there'll be a frost from the midlands northwards, maybe —15 or 16 celsius again in the northern highlands as we start off friday. now on friday, this area of low pressure will eventually be pulling its way southwards

and eastwards into the near continent. we'll start off the early part of the morning again with still some snow across parts of northern ireland, but that will be clearing as we head through the early part of the morning. and then the snow across north wales should also start to clear. still some snow for the pennines, for northern england, as we head through the morning. but that snow risk transfers itself further eastwards into lincolnshire, possibly east anglia for a short time. we draw in a northerly wind, and that will blow down some showers across scotland and northern england as we head throughout the day, but there will be some brighter skies as well. feeling cold wherever you are with plenty of added wind chill, the winds lighter by the end of the day.

this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm reeta chakrabarti. our top stories: the un's nuclear watchdog has again warned of the risk of a nuclear catastrophe in ukraine after shelling cut power to the russian occupied zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for a sixth time. the uk government formally delays the construction of sections of the hs2 rail line in a bid to cut costs. tens of thousands of people take part in demonstrations across israel against proposed reforms to the judicial system. the cost of childcare is soaring in england, scotland and wales. a new report shows one in four parents say

the expense is more than 75% of their take—home pay. and weather warning for heavy snow in the uk. the cold munitions are expected to last until the weekend. —— the cold conditions. time for the sport now. and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's laura. hello, reeta, hello, everyone. england have lost to bangladesh in their first t20 match since winning the t20 world cup in november. they lost by six wickets in chattogram. bangladesh won the toss and it initially looked like it would be a good move for england, with captainjos buttler making a half century before eventually falling to hasan mahmud for 67. najmul hossain shanto hit a half—century to put the hosts

in a strong position before an edged effort from shakib al hasan saw bangladesh secure victory with two overs to spare. the second match is on sunday. four months before the women's football world cup, the french federation say that they have reached "the point of no return" and they have sacked their head coach corinne diacre. she had been under increased pressure after former captain wendie renard announced last month that she would not play at the tournament "under the current system". two other key players followed, and 2a hours ago, diacre said that there had been a smear campaign against her and vowed to carry on. she took charge in 2017 and only last year signed a contract extension seeing here through to the paris olympics next year, but the french federation say its own investigation has exposed "a majorfracture with senior players" and the team's interests were being damaged. following tottenham's disappointing loss to ac milan in the champions league last night which saw them exit the competition at the round of 16 phase, questions are mounting around

the future of manager antonio conte. his contract is up at the end of the season and there are rumours of player unrest. he's said fans need to be patient and that the club know what his vision is for the future, but earlier bbc football reporter simon stone told us it's a matter of when and not if he leaves tottenham hotspur. i don't think anybody realistically thought that tottenham were going to challenge for the league title this season, but i think they thought they could do well in the champions league and compete in one of the cubs. i think that is what antonio conte thought when he brought players and during the summer, but they have just not managed to get any consistency. as you say, fan discontent, a lot of booze last night, irritation behind the scenes as well. it is just not worked out

—— a lot of boos. manchester united take on real betis in the first leg of their europa league last 16 tie. united will be without midfielder marcel sabitzer and striker anthony martial. sabitzer came off the bench in sunday's defeat at liverpool but has been ruled out of the european tie. the hosts finished second in their group on goal difference, also winning five of their six matches. opponents real betis ended the group stage with the best record in the competition, winning five and drawing one of their matches. elsewhere, premier league leaders arsenal are back in action tonight as they hope to take a step closer to the europa league quarter—finals. they face sporting lisbon in portugal. west ham are on the road, taking on aek larnaca in cyprus for the first leg of their europa conference league last 16 tie. both kick off in around 15 minutes. the world players union fifpro say that the world cup cannot be played in the november/december window again without major changes to how the tournament is arranged. they have published a report on how the qatar world cup

affected player workload. post—tournament recovery time was cut from 37 days to eight to reduce disruption to europe's club calendar. if you want to pursue a winter world cup again, i think you need to go in conversation with the leagues, that they completely change their schedule and provide appropriate recovery and training time pre—and post the tournament, but that would of course resemble, what, a two, two and a half month break in competition? ifind it unlikely and a half month break in competition? i find it unlikely they will agree to that, but if they want to find a conversation, that is of course ok. you've seen the logistics, the survey, the opinion of the players. it is not our opinion it is good for the sport, or the players. that is all the sport for now. players. that is all the sport for nova thank _ players. that is all the sport for now. thank you _ players. that is all the sport for

now. thank you very _ players. that is all the sport for now. thank you very much, - players. that is all the sport for i now. thank you very much, laura. to the us, where a congressional committee has begun hearing witness testimony about america's withdrawal from afghanistan in 2021. one former marine — who was badly injured when suicide bombers attacked crowds at kabul airport — described the withdrawal as a "catastrophe". here's our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley. for afghans, the chaotic withdrawal from the country was seen as a betrayal, an abandonment. many in the us and uk military who served there felt the same. thousands of afghans who helped them did make it out, but many more were left behind. the whole evacuation is now being examined at congressional hearings in washington. for this marine sergeant testifying, there was no disguising the trauma of being caught in a bomb at the entrance to kabul airport, the deadliest moment of the withdrawal. i'm thrown 12 feet onto the ground and i instantly knew what had happened. i opened my eyes to marines dead or unconscious lying around me. the bomb killed 13 american soldiers and 170 afghan civilians — an explosion he said he'd had intelligence about,

had warned his superiors about, but had been ignored. my body was overwhelmed from the trauma of the blast. my abdomen had been ripped open. every inch of my exposed body, except for my face, took ball bearings and shrapnel. the withdrawal also caused moral injury, the hearing was told — the pain and guilt of leaving afghan colleagues behind. sergeant vargas—andrews said countless afghans were murdered by the taliban not far from his position. others were so terrified, they killed themselves. the withdrawal was a catastrophe in my opinion, and there was an inexcusable lack of accountability and negligence. the 11 marines, one sailor and one soldier that were murdered that day have not been answered for. perhaps most damning was the testimony of a former colonel, who warned of a tsunami of mental health problems for veterans and said america was building a nasty reputation of systemic abandonment of its allies. caroline hawley, bbc news.

the cost of childcare in the uk is soaring, with an average full—time nursery place for a child under two now costing nearly £15,000 a year. a report by the charity coram says average costs have risen by nearly 6%, while the availability of places has fallen. some parents say it's now so expensive to have their children looked after that they're being forced out of work. the uk is one of the most expensive countries in the world for childcare. the average cost of a full—time nursery place for a child under two in great britain stands atjust under £15,000 a year. that puts the uk in the top three most expensive countries in the world, according to the oecd. the only countries where parents need to spend a higher percentage of their income on childcare are switzerland and new zealand. around the world, the costs vary hugely — with childcare costing much less in austria, hungary and portugal. our reporter hannah miller has more.

# wake up, wake up... # the singing and the smiles come forfree at this toddler group. but parents here are less enthused about spending to the tune of £15,000 on child care. that's the average full—time cost for a single child under two. and these parents say it's keeping them out of work. when i had my daughter, who's five, i had to quit myjob because we couldn't afford childcare. how did you feel about having to quit yourjob? it's so frustrating because you spend years working in something that you really enjoy and then you have to quit. i look forward to - going back to nursing. my plan is to go back to nursing. if there'd be more options - and if childcare had been either cheaper or there was more flexibility or whatever, - that would have definitely been something i would have done. i and my wife looks after her full—time. but it does put a strain on the bank account, especially with the energy bills going up and stuff like that.

so childcare is something we've considered. but then unless she managed to get a job, where the hourly pay was so much higher than the cost of the childcare, there would just literally be no point. purple. you are such a good girl knowing all your colours. brown. and the cost of childcare is only going one way. it is the glue on your fingers? is it making your fingers sticky? at this nursery in st helens, they've just announced a fee increase of 10% to cover wage rises, bills and business rates. how do you feel when you're asking parents for more money? i feel guilty. it really is hard to ask parents. it really is because we know that for some of our parents and many of them, they're actually paying more for childcare than they're paying for their mortgages, which is just crazy. how would you describe the state of childcare? in crisis. the government really, really needs to sort it out, help us, support us and understand that the first five years of a child's life are the most important.

and if we don't want a broken economy, then we need to fix it. and in some places, it's already too late. this nursery in southampton is one of four that's closed in the past week. so normally we'd have about 50 children here. when parents are reliant on so—called free hours, which are paid for by the government, nurseries say the rate they get isn't keeping up with rising costs. it's been very, very difficult. the money that is provided via the local authorityjust isn't sufficient to be able to make it viable, unfortunately. the actual rate provided is over £2 per child per hour lower than actually it needs to be for us to reallyjust cover our costs. in the ones that we have closed in the past week there's over 100 families from deprived areas that just won't have that support now. and it leaves parents like kerry in a difficult situation. she wants to keep working

as a carer, but her four—year—old's nursery has shut down. i've contacted so many nurseries, they're full to the brim. _ i'm quite lucky really, cos i have got my mum who will have olly. j she adores olly, but it's not the same, is it? - it's not the same as going to your | nursery and interacting every day| with a group of children. so, yeah, it was a little bit sad land a little bit worried really, | | because now what's he going to be| like when he goes to school with no social interaction, really? the government says it recognises that families and early years providers are facing financial pressures, but nurseries across the country warn that without imminent action we'll be counting the cost of a crisis in child care long after these children are grown up. hannah miller, bbc news. the sahel region of africa is a hotbed ofjihadist conflict. last year, more than 2,000 civilians were killed in mali alone.

but it's notjust islamic insurgency that's posing a threat — mercenaries from russia's wagner group, who, despite being brought in to fight the jihadists, have been accused of committing atrocities and creating further insecurity. but one country in the region, mauritania, has not suffered a single attack in the last decade. aside from significant military reforms, one of its strategies has been to patrol the porous 2,000—km—long border with a task force using camels. the bbc�*s caroline loyer has been to the border town of achemim. sand, as far as the eye can see. this land marks the border between mauritania and mali, a region rife with conflict. these men, known as niharists, are all local nomads.

translation: we are recruiting men who come from this area i because they know the terrain and they know the population here. over 300 men make up the entire unit, and with the camels, they can get to parts unreachable by 4x4 vehicles. their main task — gathering intelligence. translation: have you seen anything suspicious in the area lately? _ translation: no, nothing. we are happy when they pass by on patrol here. they maintain stability. whenever they find someone suspicious, they will arrest them. translation: when the people are comfortable with you, - they share information - which can prevent attacks. they also let us know about anyone unknown crossing the border. - in recent years, this unit has had to deal with another threat — mercenaries from russia's wagner group accused of committing atrocities in the region. but the men say they're prepared. translation: russian forces are not close to the border. _ they are in mali's territory. i'm not scared of them. the mauritanian army

is not scared of them. every night, they set up a camp at a different location somewhere in the desert. they spread out and take up defensive positions to protect themselves. these men are sharing a meal together after a long day patrolling near the border. the atmosphere here is relaxed, but developments in neighbouring mali are keeping them on alert. mauritania hasn't experienced a single terrorist attack in over a decade. as well as the nomad unit, the authorities have brought in significant military reforms to prevent infiltration by militants. translation: the presence of this threat in mali represents . a threat to my country. these terrorists, even in small numbers and less equipped, are extremely dangerous and very aggressive. so on our end, we need to be on the same level to not lose the battle.

back at the border, the maharis unit's tasks involve more than security. they also provide health care forfar—flung communities. translation: when you help locals improve their quality of life, - they are more resistant towards terrorism, since terrorists like to recruit from the poor and vulnerable. the nomad unit is able to support the authorities in preventing jihadist groups from coming over the border. but controlling such a vast land in this volatile region will remain a difficult task. caroline loyer, bbc news, mauritania. police officers spend an estimated 20 to 40% of their time dealing with mental health calls and incidents.

now new data obtained by the bbc shows the number of these incidents recorded by forces in england, wales and scotland have increased significantly over a five year period. newsnight�*s uk editor sima kotecha has had exclusive access to a triage vehicle in liverpool attending mental health calls with a medic and a police officer. and a warning there is reference to suicide in this report. you might go from speaking to somebody who is seriously considering taking their own life. owen is a mental health nurse. we can try and help them and give them access to services that can can support around their mental health. —— that can support around their mental health. with police officer paul, they travel through the streets of liverpool visiting those who are experiencing poor mental health. it'sjust about speaking to people with respect. any of us might experience mental health crisis, or we might be in some sort of mental health episode,

so i always think that we should always deal with people correctly, no matter what. police can detain someone if they're thought to be mentally vulnerable. but they argue having owen here helps to prevent that, because he can try and get the person the help they need. data obtained by newsnight shows that 21 forces recorded a significant increase in mental health incidents over the last five years. here in merseyside, there's been a nearly fourfold increase. it's late afternoon, and we've just pulled up outside a house. we're about to go and see a veteran who has been in contact with the police on several occasions before, talking about wanting to take his own life. so we're going to go in inside and see if he's ok. 21 years, raf. i don't know, i don't know how to save my life. i think i've been in prison about eight times. i think i've been to court about 53 times. no—one cares, love. no—one cares.

how does calling paul and owen help you? it keeps me alive. it's all i've got. senior police officers have spoken out about spending too much time on cases like this one. but people like paul often call 999 as their first resort when looking for help. the home office says to free up police time, a new approach is being developed, which will make it easier for staff in police control rooms to identify the right agency to deploy at the outset, when responding to 999 calls concerning people in a mental health crisis. paul and owen feel working together is effective, where enforcement and empathy meet to save lives. more than 500 schools in parts of the uk have been closed

because of heavy snow. icy conditions have gripped much of the country in the past day, with —16 celsius recorded in the scottish highlands — the coldest march temperature in more than a decade. and there are warnings of further snowstorms in northern england and wales. our reporter nick garnett filed this update from the peak district, in the country's centre. that road is managing to stay open — that is the main road between chesterfield and the north—west of england. if i come round a bit here, though, you can see that the smaller roads, the more minor roads, they have gone completely. they were shutting at 9:30am. there was not an awful lot of notice that this bad weather was coming, and so the authorities have been out gritting, they have been working with all the local authorities around here to make sure that what could be done to prepare for this was being done properly. you have seen the roads, the main roads, are staying open.

the one that has shut in the last few minutes is the a66 between penrith and scotch corner. that was shut because there is just too much traffic on it, or wanting to use it, and there is no way off it once you get on it. that road is now being closed. these other roads, though, are staying open for now, at least. the problem is that tomorrow, there are three amber weather warnings in place — one in northern england, one in northern ireland and one in north wales. and we're just going to have to move because there is another car coming towards us. those weather warnings are in place until tomorrow morning, at least. then they turn into yellow warnings as well, and that is going to continue on right the way through until the weekend. in some ways, the bad weather is here to stay for quite a while. as i was saying about the authorities, schools have been planning this as well, so you've got schools closing in the sheffield areas, in buxton, which is over my shoulder somewhere in the distance — most of the schools in buxton have already closed. in huddersfield, they have already

said that some of the schools are not going to open tomorrow as well. and one other little bit of transport news — east midlands airport, the runway has been closed there. manchester airport, as far as we know, has managed to stay open. but the weather is going to stay like this, perhaps not as bad as this, for a couple of days at least. the bbc�*s nick garnett. a 25—year—old singer from london is to be the uk's entry for this year's eurovision song contest. mae muller will perform i wrote a song at the competition in liverpool in may. our music correspondent mark savage has the story — and a warning his report does contain some flashing images. mystery pop star, please reveal yourself! argh! hello! i am mae muller and i'm representing the uk in this year's eurovision! and this is the song she'll be taking to liverpool in may. # instead i wrote a song about how you did me wrong # i could have cried at home

and spent the night alone... # yeah, yeah, this is good. it's going to be so good. the song was written about a brutal break—up. i was really annoyed at this guy, i wanted to do something crazy, maybe burn his house down, i don't know, but instead i took the high road and i wrote a song. and that's called growth, ladies and gentlemen. it's a long way from her first taste of fame in this mika video 16 years ago. raised in north london, she was working at this pub when she signed her first publishing deal. since then, she's racked up more than two billion streams. # was minding my own business... # mae was chosen for eurovision by tap music, the company behind ellie goulding and lana del rey. definitely when we met mae, her charisma, her determination, all those things. she has such great wit, she's super intelligent. yeah, she seemed like the right choice. but she has big shoes to fill.

# i'm up in space, man... # after sam ryder�*s second place finish at last year's eurovision. you've got to go big and you've got to do it right, and i feel like this is such a level up from anything i've ever done and i can really feel it. but fans are already predicting great things. it's going to be great in the arena. i think that will really work. let me put you on the spot — where do you think it's going to come? i think that's a top ten entry and that's good. top ten out of all the countries is a really good result. mark savage, bbc news. # instead i wrote a song. # our eurovision correspondent told us more about the song and its entrance. more about the song and its entrance-— more about the song and its entrance. n, ~ ., , , more about the song and its entrance. ~ ., , , ., ., entrance. mae muller has been around for a few years- _

entrance. mae muller has been around for a few years. she _ entrance. mae muller has been around for a few years. she actually _ for a few years. she actually started her career a long time ago. she was the little girl in a music video for grace kelly, a song by mika. she is 25, she was born in 1997, which was actually the last time the vision won the eurovision song contest, so it could be assigned this could be it. you compare to the other songs in the competition, a lot of them are quite medium, a lot of male groups in there, so i do think this will stand out on the saturday night. and out on the saturday night. and before we _ out on the saturday night. and before we go. _ out on the saturday night. and before we go, there is a new kind of lawnmower in italy and it is willie. if like a few have taken over the city of pompeii. they are tasked with grazing to keep an archaeological site from growing vegetation. it is part of a sustainable initiative that helps to preserve landscape. the work of these 150 sheep are hopes to attract more visitors and revive the ancient vineyard. that is quite a sight, isn't it? do you remember, you can

reach me and some of the team on twitter. and you can also stay across the very latest news on our website. hello there. plenty more snowfall to come across much of the northern half of the uk in particular over the next couple of days or so, with strong, gusty winds, too, at times leading to blizzard—like conditions. this is powis in wales. we're starting to see the snowfall stack up here. there are three amber weather warnings in force issued by the met office, the first for northern ireland, the second for north wales, into parts of shropshire, where there could also be some freezing rain falling — treacherous driving conditions here — and the third from the north midlands, northwards into the pennines, particularly high snowfall totals for here. now, why is this all happening? well, we've got a pair of low pressure moving eastwards over the next 21t hours or so, but it's pretty much stalled across the central swathe of the uk. there are some strong gusty winds,

cold air towards the north, much milderfurther south. all of this across southern england and south wales is falling as rain, but there could be some heavy, thundery downpours as we head through the rest of the day. but of course, all the concern is for within these warning areas, where the snow willjust keep on falling for the rest of the day and it will be very windy. blizzard—like conditions and drifting snow possible, a range of temperatures. look at this, 12 or 13 celsius in devon and cornwall in that much milder air towards the south. overnight tonight, the snow will continue to fall for many, drifting snow and blizzards, so treacherous driving conditions. and on the edge of this area of low pressure, some very strong, gusty winds, too, for exposed coastal areas of the far south—west and into the channel islands. but tricky travelling conditions for much of the country, particularly for transpennine routes. there'll be a frost from the midlands northwards, maybe —15 or 16 celsius again in the northern highlands as we start off friday. now on friday, this area of low pressure will eventually be pulling its way southwards and eastwards into

the near continent. we'll start off the early part of the morning again with still some snow across parts of northern ireland, but that will be clearing as we head through the early part of the morning. and then the snow across north wales should also start to clear. still some snow for the pennines, for northern england, as we head through the morning. but that snow risk transfers itself further eastwards into lincolnshire, possibly east anglia for a short time. we draw in a northerly wind, and that will blow down some showers across scotland and northern england as we head throughout the day, but there will be some brighter skies as well. feeling cold wherever you are with plenty of added wind chill, the winds lighter by the end of the day.

today at six — the rising cost of childcare and it's impact on the economy. parents tell us they are being forced to give up work and nurseries say they are having to close as they cannot afford to run. when we worked it out it was just pen and paper how much childcare it would cost and itjust wasn't worth me going back to work. the government says it has spent £20 billion in five years to help families. labour say they would overhaul the current system. also on the programme... delays for parts of the hs2 high speed rail line north of birmingham as the government tries to cut costs. getting ready for heavy snow and blizzards forecast across parts of the uk as the met office warns there could be significant disruption. music.

and meet the woman flying the flag for the uk in this year's