hello, i'm ben thompson. this is outside source. areas of ukraine's biggest cities are still without power, after coming under russian bombardment. residents speak of life under fire. it is very scary because every time they are hitting not only the infrastructure, but they are hitting civilians. people are dying, a lot of kids are dying. it comes as the un nuclear watchdog warns of catastrophe, and demands immediate action over ukraine. also in the programme. a struggle on the streets of tel aviv, tens of thousands march in opposition to a planned overhaul of israel's judicial system.

and, the rising cost of childcare — parents are being forced to give up work, while nurseries close is places they're needed most. hello and welcome. we start in ukraine, which was targeted by at least 80 russian missiles overnight in the most significant bombardment since the anniversary of the invasion two weeks ago. we know that at least nine people have died. the targets were across ukraine, from kharkiv in the north to odesa in the south. president zelensky — in a statement on telegram — said ten regions had been hit. he added that russia would not �*avoid responsibility�*. the mayor of the capital, kyiv, said 40% of the capital's residents were without heating. our diplomatic correspondent james landale. this was a pretty comprehensive

barrage of strikes across the country largely targeted at energy infrastructure. there have been reports of power cuts across the country to the north in kharkiv to the south in odesa and to the west in various cities. here in northern kyiv we think that a drone came across, picked up by the air defences and destroyed leaving debris filling the area. windows have been blown out. there is debris all over here just next door in a children's playground, some cars were damaged, destroyed. a similar story to in the west in lviv. we know that at least five people were killed in strikes there. so a reminder that yes, their main target may have been energy infrastructure but civilians did not escape the overnight attacks. moscow said its hypersonic missiles were involved in the attacks. they can travel at exceptionally high speeds — making it easier to evade air defences. russia reportedly used them for the first time in march last year —

at the very beginning of the war. previously, president biden has said that the weapon is �*almost impossible to stop�*. iryna lives in the suburbs of kyiv with her three month old baby. here�*s what she�*s dealing with on a daily basis. it is very scary because every time, they are hitting not only the infrastructure, but hitting civilians. people are dying. a lot of kids are dying. last week, an eight—month—old baby died. the week before in kharkiv some children died so essentially we are scared, for me as a mother. and these pictures are of the zolochiv district of lviv in western ukraine. five people have been killed there — and more are feared dead under the rubble. this all comes as us director of national intelligence, avril haines, says that the russian president, vladimir putin, may be planning to drag out the war for years and that russia is not strong enough to launch major new offensives this year. here�*s philip ingram — a former british military

intelligence officer — responding to that suggestion. i think this is significant because there is all this talk about the spring offensive in the russians have moved from formations that they have been training in belarus run into the east ready to attack. but it seems as if they have not been able to generate that combat part to build upon ukrainian defences and the ukrainians are holding that which is why i think the ukrainians have not withdrawn from bakhmut at the moment because they are fixing the russians in place there and stopping them from doing anything. that bodes well for the ukrainians whenever the western tanks and infantry fighting vehicles managed to get into the country with the trained troops and ready to carry out ukrainian counter offences. and there is another element to this. shelling overnight in southern ukraine damaged the only functioning power line used for electricity to cool the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. it lost power earlier — though we know that�*s now been restored. let�*s remind ourselves of why this power station is so important.

the zaparozhizhia plant sits on the banks of the dnipro river — just 200 kilometres away from crimea — which russia annexed in 2014. it�*s been under the control of the russian military since early march last year. it�*s the largest nuclear power plant in europe — and the 10th largest in the world. earlier — we heard from the head of the international atomic agency, rafael grossi — speaking to the bbc. i have been making very serious appeal for everybody to support the iaea in setting protection for the plan. 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. let�*s unpack all of the day�*s developments with dr robert farley — a national security expert from the university of kentucky. thank you for being with us. i

wonderfirst of all thank you for being with us. i wonder first of all how you would characterise these latest attacks. what does it tell us about moscow�*s bombardment of ukraine? it what does it tell us about moscow's bombardment of ukraine?— what does it tell us about moscow's bombardment of ukraine? it tells us that the russians _ bombardment of ukraine? it tells us that the russians have _ bombardment of ukraine? it tells us that the russians have not _ bombardment of ukraine? it tells us that the russians have not given - bombardment of ukraine? it tells us that the russians have not given up| that the russians have not given up on the terror bombing campaign that they have been in the caged and in they have been in the caged and in the several months. this is attempt to demoralise the ukrainians and undercut support for the ukrainian government and damage their economy. not much indication that it has succeeded so far. that it has dealt enough damage to ukraine to have an effect on the war effort but it seems to have had in a effect domestically in russia. talk to me as well about _ domestically in russia. talk to me as well about the _ domestically in russia. talk to me as well about the significance - domestically in russia. talk to me as well about the significance of i as well about the significance of those hypersonic missiles. first use at the start of the war. why would russia start using them again now? part of the problem may be that the russians just did not have enough of them to continue using them at anything like the pace that began the war. these are extremely

sophisticated missiles and every indication that they are extremely expensive missiles. as you suggested they are hard to intercept and quite precise. you want to be careful about the targets you select and they are the exact weapon that russia will want to reserve in case of any confrontation with nato. you mentioned russian weapons at their disposal i wonder if we know anything about what weapons they have now what they have left and what they have been able to manufacture over the course of the work? we manufacture over the course of the work? ~ ., �* ., ., work? we don't have enough information _ work? we don't have enough information about _ work? we don't have enough information about how- work? we don't have enough information about how well. work? we don't have enough l information about how well the russian defensive ministerial base is doing at producing high sophistication ordinance like cruise missiles, drones like these hypersonic missiles. there are some indications that there are not going as fast as they could because of chip shortages and other technology shortages but also reports that industries and factories in russia that produce these weapons are

working on extreme ships, sometimes 24 working on extreme ships, sometimes 2a hour shifts. so it is really an important guess as to how many of these weapons they are able to replace in the amount of time that they have. replace in the amount of time that the have. �* _, . replace in the amount of time that the have. ~ ., , , ., ., they have. also a suggestion that this war could _ they have. also a suggestion that this war could drag _ they have. also a suggestion that this war could drag out _ they have. also a suggestion that this war could drag out even - they have. also a suggestion that l this war could drag out even further than many thought. what is your assessment of what the strategy from moscow might be right now? i do think that moscow might be right now? i if think that there's is some think that there�*s is some consideration of trying to draw lag the war out in the hopes that the west will run out of money or weapons or interest in being supportive of ukraine. —— drag. that does not seem to me to be a great strategy on the russia park. i think that between 22 midterm elections in the us basically made it impossible that they would be any serious cochairmen of the us for. some indication of the sum modern sport indication of the sum modern sport in the rest of europe —— cross helmet. but also some other interest in continuing support of sending

weapons to craig. so if that is the russian strategy i�*m not convinced it is a good one and will solve their problems.— their problems. give us the significance _ their problems. give us the significance of _ their problems. give us the significance of the - their problems. give us the - significance of the zaporizhzhia plant we now know that it has power back to cool essential components there but tell us the significance of that being under attack? i5 there but tell us the significance of that being under attack? is a significant _ of that being under attack? i3 —. significant strategic objective. it is important for ukraine�*s future that it has that power plant available. obviously neither russia or ukraine are seeking to severely damaged or destroyed the plants just because of the amount of damage that it would inflict on the region. but i do not think we have a good idea, yet that either site is being as careful as they could with respect to how they are planning to fight in the vicinity of the plant.— the vicinity of the plant. grateful for our the vicinity of the plant. grateful for your time _ the vicinity of the plant. grateful for your time this _ the vicinity of the plant. grateful for your time this evening. - the vicinity of the plant. grateful. for your time this evening. national security expert at the university of kentucky. thank you. to israel now, where in the past few minutes, the president has been

on national television, describing the ongoing protests against the government�*s planned overhaul of the judicial system as a "disaster" tearing the country apart. tens of thousands of people turned out today for what they called a "day of resistance to dictatorship" — the latest action in weeks of protests. country�*s judiciary in favour of a model with broad nationalsupport. president isaac herzog also said... the current legislation advancing through parliament "needs to be some developing news from tel aviv saying that three people have been injured there. pictures are coming from us now from the scene. no immediate details about the circumstances of that shooting. as we said it has come on a day of

widespread protests against those government plans to overhaul the judicial system and the height intentions there —— heightened tension. protesters today blocked access to the airport in tel aviv, forcing the prime minister benjamin netanyahu to take a helicopter there. as you can see here some protesters resisted police efforts to clear the highway. several were arrested. this was a confrontation between a protester and israel�*s security minister itamar ben—gvir outside the airport. this drone footage shows some of the traffic chaos created today as protesters blocked main intersections in tel aviv and other cities. let�*s hear from some protestors. i am protesting against the regime coup that is endangering the country we all love. we have no choice, if we won�*t voice our opinion today, raise our heads and speak up — tomorrow we won�*t have

the opportunity to do it. we are here to protest, to show that it is important for the academics to also drive change here. and look how many people came. we hope more will come, and that the people who need to listen — will listen. our middle east correspondent tom bateman was there. you can see the protesters. they breached the road. police have been trying to stop them. they came down here, jumped over the fence, we followed them over as we were filming. they got onto the road and blocked it. this is exactly what israel�*s far right police minister itamar ben—gvir said he would not accept. he calls these protesters �*anarchists�*. you can hear them chanting for democracy. we watch as the mounted police came along the streets, the protesters dug in. dozens of them were sitting on the road and at that point they pushed them back. so what is it that they oppose so fiercely? they�*re against changes to the justice system

which are a cornerstone of israel�*s new nationalist—religious coalition led by prime minister benjamin netanyahu. they include giving the elected government decisive influence over the selection ofjudges. they also limit the ability of the supreme court to rule against the executive or strike down legislation. critics say the reforms will undermine judicial independence and threaten democracy. tens of thousands of people have turned out for weekly mass rallies against the new legislation. mr netanyahu has repeated his accusation that the opposition is trying to create anarchy. writing on twitter in response, yair lapid said... "the government did not agree to any attempt at negotiation, and continues to push through legislation that will turn us into a messianic, extremist and undemocratic state." our middle east correspondent yolande knell has the latest from jerusalem. mr netanyahu, despite the fact

that he remains as prime minister, he is facing corruption charges. he remains on trial, he denies those charges, but they are concerned that this could ultimately have an impact on him if there was any conviction. could that, too be struck down? it is giving the government a lot of power in a system where you don�*t have an israeli constitution. you only have these quasi—constitutional basic laws in parliament consists of a single chamber. it comes as us defence secretary lloyd austin is visiting israel — he briefly met israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. here�*s what mr austin had to say. the us also remains firmly opposed to any acts which could trigger more insecurity including settlement expansion and inflammatory rhetoric and we�*re especially disturbed by violence by settlers against palestinians. so we�*ll continue to oppose actions that could push a two—state

solution further out of reach. i�*m joined now by allison kaplan sommer who is a journalist for israel�*s haaretz newspaper. thank you for being with us. we have seen those pictures of protests in many cities across the country. give us your assessment about whether the protests and protesters reflect the majority of the population? these rotests majority of the population? these protests have _ majority of the population? these protests have been _ majority of the population? these protests have been going - majority of the population? these protests have been going on - majority of the population? these protests have been going on for. majority of the population? inf”? protests have been going on for ten weeks. they started small and immediately grew to a huge protests. according to polls that the majority of israeli do not supportjudicial reforms stop it is been calling a judicial revolution work to as put forth by the netanyahu government thatis forth by the netanyahu government that is moving through quickly and wants to pass. along with the segment of the population, a large segment, that disagrees with the contents of this reform, there are a lot of israeli who may not have huge

objections to the reforms themselves but the fact that there is such a tear in the country in such a controversy over them the fact that the government is without hesitation trying to shove them through without any kind of discussion, negotiation. the kind a long debate you think would be necessary to try to change the fundamental structural —— structure of the government will stop people have deep objection to that bringing people out who may not usually demonstrate. you that bringing people out who may not usually demonstrate.— usually demonstrate. you talked about the attempt _ usually demonstrate. you talked about the attempt at _ usually demonstrate. you talked j about the attempt at negotiation that the government did not even agree to any sort of negotiation, pushing this legislation through turning it into a messianic extremis and undemocratic state. equally we have president isaac herzog saying that he�*s working along the clock to broker a compromise and saying that it needs to be discarded how significant is that intervention? people have been talking about compromises that the president herzog has been trying to promote a

compromise for several weeks now. the problem is that the opposition refuses to sit down and negotiate a compromise proposal that may be both sides could agree on while the government is pushing through the original proposal. the government refuses to stop promoting that original proposal so how can you negotiate on a compromise solution when one of the extreme options is already making its way through the legislature. so we are in a sort of standoff. the opposition won�*t negotiate unless there is a pause and the government refuses to pause, they say they will negotiate without pausing. they say they will negotiate without ausinu. ~ ., ., ,, they say they will negotiate without ausinu. ~ ., ., , . they say they will negotiate without ”ausin.. ., ., , . ., , pausing. what do you expect any comprised _ pausing. what do you expect any comprised could _ pausing. what do you expect any comprised could look _ pausing. what do you expect any comprised could look like? - pausing. what do you expect any comprised could look like? rightj pausing. what do you expect any - comprised could look like? right now ou nude comprised could look like? right now you rrude -- — comprised could look like? right now you nude -- need _ comprised could look like? right now you nude -- need a _ comprised could look like? right now you nude -- need a simple _ comprised could look like? right now you nude -- need a simple majority. you nude —— need a simple majority in the proposal, a super majority of the parliament in order to override the parliament in order to override thejudiciary if they the parliament in order to override the judiciary if they wanted to strike down a law, they would only

need a simple majority in the legislature to say no. they cannot tell us what to do. we are pushing this law through anyway. so it could be raised from a simple majority to a much higher majority to have a much higher threshold in the legislature to override the judiciary. that is a possibility. one of the key sticking point is the makeup of the committee which appointsjudges. underthe makeup of the committee which appointsjudges. under the current appoints judges. under the current proposal, appointsjudges. under the current proposal, the government the ruling coalition members would hold a majority in that committee and so basically the ruling coalition, the majority would be able to decide, have a yes or no on who could become thejudge so have a yes or no on who could become the judge so they are allowing negotiations on the suggested composition of that committee, but right now the government is not showing any kind of flexibility and wanting to offer a solution in which the selection ofjudges could somehow have a more balanced committee. in other members of the opposition party and civil servants

could have as much as a say as the rule party. could have as much as a say as the rule party-— rule party. but to talk to you thank ou. here in the uk, the government is being warned that the cost of childcare is rising — making it increasingly difficult for many parents to go to work. the charity "coram" also says the number of places available is dropping and the system needs urgent reform. so let�*s look at how much parents are paying and how that compares globally. the uk is one of the most expensive countries in the world for childcare — third only to new zealand and switzerland. the average cost of a full—time nursery place for a child under two in great britain stands atjust under 15,000 pounds a year. a couple on an average income in the uk will spend 29% of that on childcare — that�*s according to data from the oecd. in the us, a couple in the same position will pay 19% of their income on childcare. while in germany it�*s just 1% due

to government subsidies. our correspondent hannah miller has been speaking to parents struggling with the cost of childcare. when i had my daughter who was five i had to quit myjob because we cannot afford childcare. how did you feel about having to quit yourjob? it�*s so frustrating because you spend years working at something that you really enjoy and then you have to quit. i look forward to going back to nursing. my plan is to going back to nursing. if there had been more options and had either childcare been cheaper or there was more flexibility or whatever that _ would have been some that i would have done. my wife looks after her full—time. it does put a strain on the bank account especially with the - energy bills going up and stuff like that. l childcare is somethingj that we considered but unless it's you actually get a job where the hourly pay. is so much higher than childcare, it would literally have no point.

the government says it�*s spent 20 billion pounds in the past five years to help families with childcare costs. but according to institute for fiscal studies, many parents don�*t know what they�*re entitled to. here�*s christine farquharson, a senior researcher from the institute for fiscal studies. people can�*t figure it out what it is they are entitled to and how they go about claiming it. so universal credit for low income families, take up rates of less than a quarter amongst preschoolers. tax free childcare for slightly higher income working families, only four in ten preschool parents have even heard of the programme. and when you look at the free entitlement awareness of some of those extended funded hours, it is also much lower than the universal entitlement. it is really hard if you are a parent to figure out what you should do about childcare. kirsty lester is the managing director of sunbeams day care in dorset. she says while the government is providing more help than ever before it still isn�*t enough. it has been a worry for the last three years. where can i make cuts

and we have gone to a point where there is nowhere else to make cuts. there are a lot of hidden costs that parents do not see and to provide a quality childcare service we would not be charging as much now if we were getting more for the government for the bits that are supposed to be free. good quality childcare cost money so if we want quality and of care for our lives or childcare service. rachel statham is the associate director for work and the welfare state at institute for public policy research which is a progessive think tank. shejoins me now. we have been hearing some of the pressures put on parents but underline some of the difference that this makes when so much of the disposable income is spent looking after children.— after children. what we are seeing is across the _ after children. what we are seeing is across the country _ after children. what we are seeing is across the country are _ after children. what we are seeing is across the country are not - after children. what we are seeing is across the country are notjust l is across the country are notjust children missing out on vital early education but parents put under a huge growing financial strain from rising childcare fees so this year we are expecting to see fees rise as

fast as —— twice as fast as incomes. that is a really dramatic picture with the background of the cost crisis and parents of the youngest children being forced to make the toughest horses between staying in work and putting their child into childcare because some simply did not add up. analysis has also shown that this columns at huge economic costs as well not just for that this columns at huge economic costs as well notjust for families but for the wider economy. we have lost out this year on £13 billion of parent cosmic earnings because of wages forgone as parents are to reduce hours or drop out of the work first entirely due to those costs. so is the answer here we saw the difference between spending and the uk and for example in germany where it isjust1% uk and for example in germany where it isjust 1% first uk and for example in germany where it is just 1% first is this just about want —— more government subsidy? we about want -- more government subsid ? ~ , ., subsidy? we definitely need more mone ut subsidy? we definitely need more money out into — subsidy? we definitely need more money put into the _ subsidy? we definitely need more money put into the childcare - subsidy? we definitely need more i money put into the childcare system but also fundamental reform. we

heard childcare providers in your piece for whom it is not adding up either. we need more action and particularly higher quality care. we need to make sure people stay in those vital jobs need to make sure people stay in those vitaljobs in every part of the country and we need action on affordability. what we are looking for is a childcare guarantee that would stretch from the end of parents leave to the end of primary school offering every child the best start to early education. that would mean a government needing to shift to free childcare and social infrastructure as a really important economic infrastructure that it depends —— underpins the economy of the uk as a whole. as a result... and we know that that would come with significant economic returns. estimating £8 billion of additional tax baking and lower social security spending if we reduce those barriers for working parents. you spending if we reduce those barriers for working parents.— for working parents. you highlight their the economic _ for working parents. you highlight their the economic costs -

for working parents. you highlight their the economic costs this - for working parents. you highlight their the economic costs this is i their the economic costs this is about the quality of care. this is notjust about the quality of care. this is not just about paying about the quality of care. this is notjust about paying for a baby—sitting service. it is about care for children at very formative ages. care for children at very formative ares. �* , ,., y care for children at very formative ares. _., , ages. absolutely so there is increasing — ages. absolutely so there is increasing evidence - ages. absolutely so there is increasing evidence that - ages. absolutely so there is i increasing evidence that shows ages. absolutely so there is - increasing evidence that shows how vital those first five years for children development and educational attainment through their lives and for the prospects of the world of work as well. we are seeing right now in the uk a peak sure of it deep and widening pre—k inequalities and childcare in a particularly early education years, good quality is eight piece of the puzzle that could reduce government spending down the line. ,., ., ., ., reduce government spending down the line. ., ., ., , ., line. good to have your thoughts and thank ou line. good to have your thoughts and thank you for— line. good to have your thoughts and thank you for being _ line. good to have your thoughts and thank you for being with _ line. good to have your thoughts and thank you for being with us _ line. good to have your thoughts and thank you for being with us on - thank you for being with us on the programme. much more skilled, we will have the latest of course on that bombardment of ukraine from russia, another wave of attacks full

details on that and of course ongoing protests in tel aviv. this is it for our section we will see you soon. hello, good evening. still some more snowfall to come particularly for the northern half of the uk over the next couple of days or so. mild air in the south, alot colder further north and then snowfall totals starting to rack up here in conwy. in wales, this this one snapped by one of our weather watchers earlier on today. some of the worst weather still to come overnight tonight. there are three amber weather warnings issued by the met office for heavy snow and ice, possibly too some freezing rain falling across northern areas of wales into western shropshire. some tricky travelling conditions, treacherous to over the pennines because there will be blizzard like conditions, strong gusty winds and some drifting snow. of course, too deep areas of low pressure pushing its way eastwards throughout the night. it will eventually clear by the end

of the day tomorrow. still tonight, snow continues to fall particularly within the warning areas. strong gusty winds, coastal gales on the back edge of the system towards exposed coasts. south—west down through the channel islands and there is a frost from the midlands northwards, too. again, temperatures as low as “14, —15 degrees for the highlands of scotland. into tomorrow morning, the early snow clears away from northern ireland and from the hills of wales, too ffrom the pennines by the time we gets that late morning, but the snow risk transfers itself further south as that colder air digging down further south as a system swells away. could be one or two showers tracking down on that northerly wind. lots of dry, bright weather tomorrow, but it will be feeling cold wherever you are with plenty of added wind chill. winds will ease down on friday night, so with clearing skies away from the far south—west and those lighter winds than it is quite likely we will see a sharp and widespread frost develop into the start of the weekend. temperatures in parts of northern england may be as low as —9 or —10 celsius, so a very frosty start

to saturday morning. on saturday, weather system out towards the south—west is just pushing its way northwards and eastwards bringing possibly a bit of snow to the moors in the south—west mostly falling as rain. some hill snow for wales and some hill snow to four northern ireland just approaching the north—west of england by the end of the afternoon, but drier further east with the snow risk transferring for the eastwards as we had throughout the night. particularly for northern england and much of scotland by the time we get to sunday, it is unsettled. it is wet and windy, but it will be feeling milder.

hello, i�*m ben thompson. this is outside source. areas of ukraine�*s biggest cities are still without power, after coming under russian bombardment. residents speak of life under fire. it is very scary because every time, they are hitting not only the infrastructure but they�*re hitting civilians. people are dying, a lot of kids are dying. it comes as the un nuclear watchdog warns of catastrophe and demands immediate action over ukraine. also in the programme: georgia�*s ruling party drops a controversial draught law, but opposition parties say the mass demonstrations are set to continue. and a huge pay package from an oil giant — shell�*s former boss saw his salary

and other benefits soar to almost $12 million last year. now to georgia, where opposition parties say demonstrations will continue, despite a promise by the ruling party to revoke a controversial draught law. this was the scene in tbilisi. it follows a week of protests with thousands gathered in anger over the bill, under which non—government groups and the media would be targeted if they get more than 20% of their funding from abroad. steve rosenberg is with the crowds. well, i�*m outside the georgian parliament, where, as you can see, pedestrians have gathered again, even though — after two days of mass protests — they�*ve managed to force a major concession from the ruling party. the ruling party here in georgia has withdrawn a controversial foreign agents bill.

now, that bill had caused a lot of anger in georgia because many people here feared that that draught law would be used to crack down on civil society and silence dissent here. now, lots of georgian flags in the crowd, ukrainian flags too, and also the flag of the european union, because polls show here in georgia that the majority of georgian citizens want their country to become a member of the european union. in fact, georgia�*s western aspirations are enshrined in the country�*s constitution. but a lot of people here have been accusing their government of trying to derail georgia�*s journey into europe and accusing the government of being pro—russian instead of pro—eu. that all looked very peaceful and good—natured. but this was the same place last night, when violent clashes took place between demonstrators

and the security forces. tear gas and water cannon were used and dozens were injured or arrested. that eventually prompted the ruling "georgian dream" parliamentary faction to say it was pulling the bill unconditionally. translation: so we've decided to say no to supporting this legislation - and to call it off. the law will fail by no—one voting for it. but other members of his party are less sure, denouncing what they call "lies" about the proposed legislation. it entailed very terrible... ..which turned into...very, very radical in georgian society. and this was caused by the fake news that was blaming us, that we are adopting russian law. despite the decision to drop the bill, opposition parties say they have no plans to halt the protests. they want to know when the proposed law will be withdrawn.

we are ready to go . on with the protests, because it's not about a particular organisation, it's about _ georgia's euro—atlantic aspirations and we are not going to put- that issue under question. it's an irreversible way of georgia. it's the choice of georgian people. georgia should be a member- of the european union and nato. these locals agree. they said they were pleased the legislation has been revoked but the demonstrations should not end. we just want to fulfil our dreams and we want to finish the job that we started two days ago. of course it is great news that they want to cancel, but this order still exists, and if it will be cancelled, we will be happy.

translation: it was a russian law that had to be recalled _ and should not have gone to parliament under any conditions, but the decision not to pass it could be a trick, so we need to have legally binding guarantees. the russian government has expressed concern about the situation in georgia. but it also says the georgian bill has no relation to russian laws. here�*s a kremlin spokesman. translation: the kremlin did not inspire anything and has absolutely nothing to do with this. the georgian bill was actually very similar to a us law on the matter. the second version was much softer. however, we certainly had nothing to do with any of them. for more on this, i�*m joined from tbilisi by natia seskuria, an associate fellow at the royal united services institute. natia, thank you for being with us, and we have seen pictures today. the situation certainly seems a little calm her there, butjust bring us up—to—date ones happen right now in tbilisi. up-to-date ones happen right now in tbilisi. ., ~ ., .,

tbilisi. thank for having me. it seems like _ tbilisi. thank for having me. it seems like right _ tbilisi. thank for having me. it seems like right now, - tbilisi. thank for having me. it seems like right now, a - tbilisi. thank for having me. it seems like right now, a lot - tbilisi. thank for having me. it seems like right now, a lot ofl seems like right now, a lot of people are out in the streets, but per test are much more peaceful, much more quiet. there is a certain emotional feeling towards achieving some kind of victory that these protesters were willing to achieve yesterday, and unfortunately yesterday, a nd u nfortu nately yesterday, and unfortunately yesterday was quite a sad moment for georgia because obviously there were some violent clashes and a lot of people were quite desperate about the government�*s decision to pass this draught lock. so when it comes to hopes that government would reverse its decision, i don�*t think many people expected this decision to be made this quickly, so there was definitely a certain feeling of joy was definitely a certain feeling of joy today, but however a lot of people were also expressing doubts, whether this would be actually put into action or not. but it seems so

far that the government will be doing what they promised to do. so far, they have asked the venice commission to withdraw the request to review this draught law, and i just received information right now that tomorrow there will be a plenary session at the georgian parliament, so hopefully tomorrow will be the day when this law will be finally killed a.— be finally killed a. yes, and i wonder what _ be finally killed a. yes, and i wonder what success - be finally killed a. yes, and i wonder what success for - be finally killed a. yes, and i i wonder what success for those protesters and demonstrators will look like. we know that plan now to drop the bill, but they have said the protests will continue. at what point do you expect they will say, ok, we have won, we will go home coachella i think the -- i think the ultimate success would be _ -- i think the ultimate success would be georgia _ -- i think the ultimate success

would be georgia getting - would be georgia getting the european union bill... there is fears this would fundamentally damage georgia�*s aspirations and georgia would not be able to get the candid status with this law being passed. so now certainly hopes are higher, but this does not mean that georgia should just wait for this candidacy status to arrive, because we have 12 requirements that need to be fulfilled, and these requirements are quite complex requirements, starting from the reforms of rule of law to all sorts of different areas which georgia needs to demonstrate some progress, so there is still a lot of effort to be put into this, and unfortunately the sad reality is that this deal was completely unnecessary —— this bill was. the unnecessary -- this bill was. the russian unnecessary —— this bill was. the russian government says that it has no connection, there is no relation to anything in russian law. briefly for us, is there still the feeling

that actually there is more going on here thanjust this that actually there is more going on here than just this proposed law, this is about the, making manoeuvres too? , ., , this is about the, making manoeuvres too? , , ., ., too? the proposed bill on foreign arents too? the proposed bill on foreign agents that _ too? the proposed bill on foreign agents that many _ too? the proposed bill on foreign agents that many believe - too? the proposed bill on foreign agents that many believe there's| too? the proposed bill on foreign. agents that many believe there's a agents that many believe there�*s a chilling resemblance to the russian law that has been adopted by moscow in 2012, and we know that this fundamentally can damage georgia�*s democratic aspirations, and the majority of the georgian population is very much supportive towards this aspiration, so that they were really concerned about the fact that many, including foreign partners as well, expressed concerns that this would put georgia into a very unfavorable position, when georgia could get aligned with russia, and of course any kind of move, any kind of decision that can alienate georgia from the western structures, is ultimately a success for russia, so

i think this would be definitely good news for the kremlin, should this law be adopted. hatia good news for the kremlin, should this law be adopted. natia seskuria, thank ou. there are fresh calls here in the uk for a higher windfall tax on the oil sector, after shell revealed that its former boss saw his pay package soar to almost $12 million last year. the company�*s annual report shows that former chief executive ben van beurden was paid $11.5 billion — or £9.7 million — in 2022, 53% up on the previous year. his bumper pay packet came as shell reported the highest annual profits in its 115—year history last year after a surge in energy prices following russia�*s invasion of ukraine. the oil giant made a record profit of almost $40 billion or {32.2 billion in 2022, double the previous year�*s total. the company said it paid out

$6.3 billion to its shareholders in the final three months of 2022 and that it planned another $4 billion share buy—back. here�*s our international business correspondent theo leggett. only a small part of that is actually salary. ben van beurden was paid a salary of £1.4 million last year. where the big amounts have come in is in terms of his bonus — that was £2.6 million — and in the value of long—term incentive plans — so, share programmes where you get given the right to buy shares or you get given shares and then you have to hold them for a certain amount of time — and for mr van beurden, those were worth nearly £5 million last year. so what�*s happened is the company has earned a great deal of profit. that feeds through into his bonus, because the company met certain targets that would have been laid down for him, and the share price has gone up quite steeply as well, which increases the value of those long—term incentives. a reminder about the uk windfall tax on energy companies�* profits. when he was chancellor, prime minister rishi sunak brought in a 25% energy profits levy.

that was increased to 35% from january 2023 by the current chancellorjeremy hunt and will run until 2028. the levy applies to profits made from extracting uk oil and gas, but not on refining or selling petrol and diesel. less than 5% of shell�*s profits come from uk production. the ngo global witness is calling on the uk government to expand its temporary windfall tax to include executive bonuses. here�*s fossil fuels campaign leader alice harrison. shall's outgoing ceo made, as you said earlier, {9.7 million in 2022. to put that figure in context, it would take an average nhs nurse 262 years to earn what he earned in one year, and the government absolutely needs to intervene in this because, of course, nurses have been striking because the government won't give them enough pay.

joining me is dean bruckner, policy director at the uk shareholders�* association. thanks for being with us. first of all i wonder what sort of message these sort of headlines about massive pay deals for bosses really sent to the public, the public who are right now struggling to pay energy bills. it are right now struggling to pay energy bills-— energy bills. it is certainly a confusing — energy bills. it is certainly a confusing message, - energy bills. it is certainly a| confusing message, because energy bills. it is certainly a i confusing message, because i energy bills. it is certainly a - confusing message, because i think most people identify what the ceo earns, what the company earns, but the ceo macklin is an employee of the ceo macklin is an employee of the company, a most senior executive. he is part of the management and people tend to confuse the manager with the owners of the company. we represent shareholders, we also defend the rights of people who have a pension —— the rights of people who have a pension -- the ceo rights of people who have a pension —— the ceo ben van beurden. and he went full text would impact upon shareholders, which is ordinary

people, and our own pensions. that does not seem fair. the issue is what to do about the, as the lady said, the gross inequity here, from nurses earning whatever she earns and someone taking back £9 million a year. that�*s the issue. and and someone taking back £9 million a year. that's the issue.— year. that's the issue. and the challenge _ year. that's the issue. and the challenge of— year. that's the issue. and the challenge of trying _ year. that's the issue. and the challenge of trying to - year. that's the issue. and the challenge of trying to please i year. that's the issue. and the i challenge of trying to please any year. that's the issue. and the - challenge of trying to please any of this, and we saw that the windfall tax has increased, there are big questions about where you tax a global organisation like shall stub it already makes it clear less than 5% of its profits actually come from the uk production. and therefore if anyone is to get serious with tackling this problem, it takes a joined up international effort, doesn�*t it? joined up international effort, doesn't it?— joined up international effort, doesn'tit? , ., . g doesn't it? yes, that is correct. my firures doesn't it? yes, that is correct. my figures show _ doesn't it? yes, that is correct. my figures show that _ doesn't it? yes, that is correct. my figures show that shell _ doesn't it? yes, that is correct. my figures show that shell paid - doesn't it? yes, that is correct. my figures show that shell paid £13 - figures show that shell paid £13 billion worth of tax globally, but a lower amount in the uk, and have the complication that these global companies can be listed anywhere,

they can be situated. i think shell has 86,000 employees, of which 6000 work in the uk, so any kind of tax system is going to be challenged. also you have the issue that governments very much like to encourage these larger companies to be listed or domiciled in the uk, or in their own country, and they like to claim the benefits of all the tax thatis to claim the benefits of all the tax that is being paid by the workers there, but as soon as you get these large windfall profits, then it is a very different story.— large windfall profits, then it is a very different story. really briefly for us, because _ very different story. really briefly for us, because time _ very different story. really briefly for us, because time is _ very different story. really briefly for us, because time is tight, - very different story. really briefly for us, because time is tight, you| for us, because time is tight, you have any sympathy with the argument that if you tax these firms too much they just go that if you tax these firms too much theyjust go elsewhere?— they “ust go elsewhere? there is a lot theyjust go elsewhere? there is a lot to that argument, _ theyjust go elsewhere? there is a lot to that argument, yeah. - theyjust go elsewhere? there is a | lot to that argument, yeah. clearly they will, because of the system we have. there are moves afoot to try and rationalize the whole system, which means a lot of government working together to do this in a but thatis working together to do this in a but that is going to take some time. we are grateful for your time. that is going to take some time. we are gratefulforyourtime. dean are grateful for your time. dean

buckner there, are gratefulfor your time. dean buckner there, the policy director at the uk shareholders organisation. stay with us on outside source. still to come: scientists say they�*ve made a breathrough with carbon capture — could it help us avoid dangerous levels of global warming? gary lineker says he does not fear being suspended by the bbc in an impartiality row about a tweet he posted criticising the government�*s asylum policy. lineker had compared the language the government used in setting out its illegal migration bill earlier this week to "that used by germany in the �*305". the culture secretary called the presenter�*s tweets "disappointing and inappropriate". 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 �*305. 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 sillito, bbc news. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story: a wave of strikes rain down across ukraine, in which russia used powerful weapons, including rare hypersonic missiles. now to climate change, and scientists have outlined a new, more effective method of removing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in the sea. the researchers say it captures co2 from the atmosphere up to three times more efficiently than current methods. it�*s thought the widespread use

of carbon capture technology will be needed if the world is to avoid dangerous levels of warming. let�*s hear first from the ceo of the carbon capture & storage association, ruth herbert. the international energy agency says that we need to be actually capturing over 7.5 billion tonnes of co2 using carbon capture and storage by 2050. and about a seventh of that, or about1 billion tonnes of that, will need to be directed air capture, so similar to this project that you�*ve highlighted, where we actually take the co2 from the air in the atmosphere, just because there are some emissions that we just can�*t capture. we can�*t capture 100% of emissions. but we�*re going to need an awful lot of this by 2050. and to put that into some context, maybe bringing back to 2035 and looking at the uk, our own climate change committee has said that we�*re going to need to capture and store over 50 million

tonnes by 2035. if you think about one large power station, say, that might be 1 million tonnes. so there�*s a lot that we need to do and, yeah, we�*re starting from just a few demonstration plants globally and trying to scale this up over the next ten years. let�*s speak to the lead author of this new research, arup sengupta from lehigh university in the us. thank you for being with us. we heard a little bit there about how this differs from existing technology, but this is quite a breakthrough, isn�*t it? technology, but this is quite a breakthrough, isn't it?- technology, but this is quite a breakthrough, isn't it? from my perspective. _ breakthrough, isn't it? from my perspective. yes. _ breakthrough, isn't it? from my perspective, yes, it _ breakthrough, isn't it? from my perspective, yes, it is. - breakthrough, isn't it? from my perspective, yes, it is. this - breakthrough, isn't it? from my perspective, yes, it is. this is i perspective, yes, it is. this is kind of a leap forward. the idea was there, but this takes all the hurdles we still face for direct capture.

hurdles we still face for direct ca ture. �* . ~ hurdles we still face for direct cature. �* ., ,, ., ., , capture. and talk to me about why this is so different, _ capture. and talk to me about why this is so different, because - capture. and talk to me about why this is so different, because one i capture. and talk to me about why| this is so different, because one of the current criticisms of current technology is that it is complicated, it is expensive, it is energy intensive. are those same criticisms true of this technology? the simple answer is, it is a very simple to apply, simple to offer technology. there are many versions of it, but this is in my opinion one of it, but this is in my opinion one of the most common if you extrapolate your... this is operationally basically near to the same thing. that is operationally, but it is also can be very cost—effective, that is basically what we think. cost-effective, that is basically what we think.— what we think. and one of the main... sorry _ what we think. and one of the main... sorry to _ what we think. and one of the main... sorry to interrupt, - what we think. and one of the | main... sorry to interrupt, but what we think. and one of the i main... sorry to interrupt, buti main... sorry to interrupt, but i was going to say, one of the major differences here, and you

have alluded to it already, is that can be into the sea. this is not about pumping it into the sea or in former oil wells, this is about storing it in the sea, in the water? sequestering in the sea, that is the second step. the first step, which makes it drastically different, is that for direct capture, it is geographically very flexible. but the difficulties that carbon dioxide concentration, in the atmosphere, is very low, we call it diluted, only 400 ppm — very low, we call it diluted, only 400 ppm - at that very low, we call it diluted, only 400 ppm — at that concentration, it is not possible up until now to capture. this shows this capturing capacity can be three or four times higher, much higher, and there is a very good reason. fline

higher, much higher, and there is a very good reason.— very good reason. one of the concerns _ very good reason. one of the concerns of— very good reason. one of the concerns of course _ very good reason. one of the concerns of course is - very good reason. one of the concerns of course is that - very good reason. one of the| concerns of course is that with very good reason. one of the - concerns of course is that with the technology changing all the time, how do governments know where to throw their weight and their support and their investment? is there a danger that when that technology changes, governments simply do nothing rather than adopting this new technology? i do nothing rather than adopting this new technology?— nothing rather than adopting this new technology? i do not know that the government _ new technology? i do not know that the government played _ new technology? i do not know that the government played any - the government played any significant role as far as direct capture is concerned. but quite naturally, we have to satisfy all the environmental needs, the regulation, and the process is very straightforward. there is no toxic chemical here because carbon dioxide is not toxic, just to remove it, so thatis is not toxic, just to remove it, so that is being removed, and then the absorbent, and then eventually it is being delivered. either in the geological storage or in the ocean. the ocean opens up a new avenue, a

new window, because in that case, the ocean... the carbon dioxide can generate. but again, there is also another thing. that is the area. i5 another thing. that is the area. is fascinating here, how this may work. arup sengupta, thank you for your time. 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 contains some flashing images. hello! i�*m 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 # instead i wrote a song... # nice, yeah, this is good. it's going to be so good.

her 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. raised in north london, she was working at this pub when she signed her first publishing deal, since when she�*s racked up more than two billion streams. mae was chosen for eurovision by tap music, the company behind ellie goulding and lana del rey. 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... # 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 obviously such a level up. but fans are already

predicting great things. it's going to be great in the arena, i think that'll really work. but 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 i of all the countries - is a really good result. mark savage, bbc news. mae muller there. some big shoes to fill after sam ryder, a hard act to follow, his second—place finish last year. much more on all those stories on our website. we will see you very soon. bye—bye. hello, good evening. still some more snowfall to come, particularly for the northern half of the uk over the next couple of days or so. mild air in the south, a lot colder further north, and the

snowfall totals starting to rack up here in conwy, in wales, this one snapped by one of our weather watchers earlier on today. some of the worst weather still to come overnight tonight. there are three amber weather warnings issued by the met office for heavy snow and ice, possibly too some freezing rain falling across northern areas of wales, into western shropshire. some tricky travelling conditions, treacherous too, over the pennines, because there will be blizzard—like conditions, with strong gusty winds and some drifting snow, of course, too. a deep area of low pressure pushing its way eastwards throughout the night. it will eventually clear by the end of the day tomorrow. still tonight, snow continues to fall particularly within the warning areas. towards exposed coasts, south—west, down through the channel islands. and there is a frost from the midlands northwards, too. again, temperatures as low as —14, —15 degrees for the highlands of scotland. into tomorrow morning, that early snow clears away from northern ireland and from the hills of wales, too, from the pennines by the time we gets that late morning,

but the snow risk transfers itself further south with that colder air digging down further south as the system swirls away. could be one or two showers tracking down on that northerly wind. lots of dry, bright weather tomorrow, but it will be feeling cold wherever you are with plenty of added wind chill. and the winds will ease down on friday night, so with clearing skies away from the far south—west and those lighter winds, then it�*s quite likely we will see a sharp and widespread frost develop into the start of the weekend. temperatures in parts of northern england may be as low as —9 or —10 celsius, so a very frosty start to saturday morning. on saturday, a weather system out towards the south—west is just pushing its way northwards and eastwards, bringing possibly a bit of snow to the moors of the south—west, mostly falling as rain. some hill snow for wales and some hill snow too for northern ireland, just approaching the north—west of england by the end of the afternoon, but drier further east, with the snow risk transferring for the eastwards as we head throughout the night, particularly for northern england and much of scotland.

but by the time we get to sunday, it is unsettled, it is wet and windy, but it will be feeling milder.

hello, i�*m ben thompson. this is outside source. areas of ukraine�*s biggest cities are still without power after coming under russian bombardment. residents describe life under rocket fire. it is very scary because every time they are hitting not only the infrastructure, but they�*re hitting civilians. people are dying, a lot of kids are dying. it comes as the un nuclear watchdog warns of catastrophe and demands immediate action over ukraine. also in the programme — georgia�*s ruling party drops a controversial draught law, but opposition parties say the mass demonstrations are set to continue. and the rising cost of childcare — parents are being forced to give up work, while nurseries close in areas

where they�*re needed most. we start in ukraine, which was targeted by at least 80 russian missiles overnight in the most significant bombardment since the anniversary of the invasion two weeks ago. we know that at least nine people have died. the targets were across ukraine, from kharkiv in the north to odesa in the south. president zelensky, in a statement on telegram, said ten regions had been hit. he added that russia would not "avoid responsibility". the mayor of the capital, kyiv, said 40% of the capital�*s residents were without heating. our diplomatic correspondent james landale. this was a pretty comprehensive barrage of strikes across the country, largely targeted at energy infrastructure. there�*ve been reports of power cuts across the country — to the north in kharkiv,

to the south in odesa, to the west in various cities. here in northern kyiv, we think that a drone came across. it was picked up by the air defences and destroyed, leaving debris filling the area. windows have been blown out. there�*s debris all over here, just next door in a children�*s playground. some cars were damaged and destroyed. a couple of people were injured. a similar story, too, in the west, in lviv. we know that at least five people were killed in strikes there. so, a reminderthat, yes, their main target might have been energy infrastructure, but civilians did not escape the overnight attacks. moscow said its hypersonic missiles were involved in the attacks. they can travel at exceptionally high speeds, making it easier to evade air defences. russia reportedly used them for the first time in march last year, at the start of the war. previously, president biden has said that the weapon is "almost

impossible to stop". iryna lives in the suburbs of kyiv with her three—month—old baby. here�*s what she�*s dealing with on a daily basis. it is very scary because every time, they are hitting not only the infrastructure, but they're hitting civilians. people are dying, a lot of kids are dying. like, the last week, an eight—month—old baby died. the week before, in kharkiv, some children died, so it's actually very scary for me as a mother. this is the zolochiv district of lviv in western ukraine. five people have been killed there, and more are feared dead under the rubble. this all comes as us director of national intelligence, avril haines, says that russia�*s president, vladimir putin, may be planning to drag out the war for years and that russia is not strong enough to launch major new offensives this year. here�*s philip ingram, a former british military intelligence officer, on that suggestion.

i think this is significant - because there's all this talk about the spring offensive - and the russians have moved some of their formations that they've been training in belarus - round into the east ready to attack. but it seems as if they haven't been able to generate that combat - part to be able to punch - through ukrainian defences. and the ukrainians are holding them, i which is why i think the ukrainians i haven't withdrawn from bakhmut at the moment because they are | fixing the russians in place there and stopping them i from doing anything. that bodes well for the ukrainians whenever the western tanks - and infantry fighting vehicles manage to get into country. with the trained troops and ready to carry outi ukrainian counteroffences. and there is another element to this. shelling overnight in southern ukraine damaged the only functioning power line used to cool the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. it lost power earlier, though we know that�*s now been restored. let�*s remind ourselves of why this power station is so important. the plant sits on the banks of the dnipro riverjust 200

kilometres away from crimea, which russia annexed in 2014. it�*s been under the control of the russian military since march last year. it�*s the largest nuclear power plant in europe and the tenth—largest in the world. earlier, we heard from the head of the international atomic agency, rafael grossi, speaking to the bbc. i have been making a 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. so, what could the lasting impact of this be? this is michael fitzpatrick, a nuclear power expert. so, the reason that you need power to the site is for several reasons. firstly, you do still need to cool the core. it will still be releasing, you know, hundreds of kilowatts

of heat, so quite a lot, but it's really aboutjust maintaining the overall security and safety of the site. maintaining the reactors in good shape, maintaining the storage facilities in good shape, being able to operate the plant in line with international good practice. dr robert farley is a national security expert from the university of kentucky. here�*s how he characterises today�*s developments. i it tells us that the russians havel not given up on the terror bombing campaign that they have been in engaged in over| the past several months. it's intended to demoralise - the ukrainians and undercut support for the ukrainian government- and damage the national economy. there is not much indication that it has succeeded so far, _ that it has dealt enough damage to ukraine to have an effect - on the war effort, but it seems

to have had an effect _ domestically in russia. it seems to support putin's control over russia - and the russian government. talk to me as well about the significance of those hypersonic missiles, first used at the start of the war. why would russia start using them again now? part of the problem may be - that the russiansjust didn't have enough of them to continue using them at anything - like the pace that began the war. these are extremely. sophisticated missiles. there's every indication - that they are also extremely expensive missiles. as you suggested, they're really hard to intercept, i they're quite precise. you want to be careful - about the targets you select, and they're the exact weapon that russia will want to hold _ in reserve in case of any| confrontation with nato. you mentioned russian weapons at their disposal. i wonder if we know anything about what weapons they have now, what they have left and what they�*ve been able to manufacture over the course of this war? we don't have enough information.

about how well the russian defence industrial base is doing - at producing high—sophistication ordnance, like cruisel missiles, like drones, like these hypersonic missiles. there seem to be some indications that they're not going as fast - as they could because of chip . shortages and other technology shortages, but then i gain also reports that industries and factories _ in russia that produce these weapons are working on extreme shifts, sometimes 24—hour shifts. - so it's really an important guess. as to how many of these weapons they are able to replace in the amount of time i that they have. there was also that suggestion that this war could drag out even further than many had thought. what is your assessment of what the strategy from moscow might be right now? i do think that there is some i consideration of trying to drag ithe war out pretty far in the hopes| that the west will run out of money or weapons or interest -

in being supportive of ukraine. that doesn't seem to me to be a great strategy- on the russian part. i think that between 2022 midterm |elections in the us basically made| it impossible that there would be any serious curtailment - of us support. there is some indication of some moderating of support _ in the rest of europe, but there's also - some other countries - expressing a lot of interest in continuing support— of sending weapons to ukraine. | so if that is the russian strategy, j i'm not convinced it's a good one, i'm not convinced it's— going to solve russia's problems. to israel now, where three people have been shot after an attacker opened fire in central tel aviv in what israeli police say is a suspected terror attack. large numbers of police and medical workers rushed to dizengoff street, a main drag in the heart of the city, where the gunman carried out the attack. the police say the suspected gunman was, in their words, neutralised at the scene. it comes hours after the us defense secretary, lloyd austin,

arrived in israel for talks. he told israeli leaders to take steps to reduce tension in the west bank amid an escalation in violence. general austin said the us was especially disturbed by violence byjewish settlers against palestinians. earlier today, israeli soldiers killed three palestinian militants during their latest operation in the west bank. there�*s also been widespread protests in israel against the government�*s planned overhaul of the judicial system. now to georgia, where opposition parties say demonstrations will continue despite a promise by the ruling party to revoke a controversial draught law. this was the scene in tbilisi. it follows a week of protests with thousands gathered in anger over the bill under which non—government groups and the media would be targeted if they get more than 20% of their funding from abroad. steve rosenberg is with the crowds. well, i�*m outside the georgian parliament, where, as you can see,

pedestrians have gathered again, even though — after two days of mass protests — they�*ve managed to force a major concession from the ruling party. the ruling party here in georgia has withdrawn a controversial foreign agents bill. now, that bill had caused a lot of anger in georgia because many people here feared that that draught law would be used to crack down on civil society and silence dissent here. now, lots of georgian flags in the crowd, ukrainian flags, too, and also the flag of the european union, because polls show here in georgia that the majority of georgian citizens want their country to become a member of the european union. in fact, georgia�*s western aspirations are enshrined in the country�*s constitution, but a lot of people here have been accusing their government of trying to derail georgia�*s journey into europe and accusing the government of being pro—russian instead of pro—eu.

it all looks very peaceful and good—natured, but this was the same place last night, when violent clashes took place between demonstrators and the security forces. tear gas and water cannon were used, and dozens were injured or arrested. that eventually prompted the ruling georgian dream parliamentary faction to say it was pulling the bill unconditionally. translation: so we've decided to say no to supporting this _ legislation and to call it off. the law will fail by no—one voting for it. but other members of his party are less sure, denouncing what they call "lies" about the proposed legislation. it entailed very terrible... ..which turned into...very, - very radical in georgian society. and this was caused by the fake news that was blaming us, _ that we are adopting russian law.

despite the decision to drop the bill, opposition parties say they have no plans to halt the protests. they want to know when the propsed law will be withdrawn. we are ready to go on with the protests, because it�*s not about a particular organisation, it�*s about georgian euro—atlantic aspirations and we are not going to put that issue under question. it�*s an irreversible way of georgia. it�*s the choice of georgian people. georgia should be a member of the european union and nato. these locals agree. they said they were pleased the legislation has been revoked, but the demonstrations should not end. we just want to fulfil our dreams, and we want to finish the job that we started two days ago. of course it's great news that they want to cancel, but this order still exists.

and if it will be cancelled, we will be happy. translation: it was a russian law | that had to be recalled and should| not have gone through parliament underanyl conditions, but the decision not to pass it could be - a trick, so we need to havei legally—binding guarantees. the russian government has expressed concern about the situation in georgia, but it also says the georgian bill has no relation to russian laws. here�*s a kremlin spokesman. translation: the kremlin did not inspire anything and has absolutely nothing to do with this. the georgian bill was actually very similar to a us law on the matter. the second version was much softer. however, we certainly had nothing to do with any of them. nastia seskuria is an associate fellow at the royal united services institute.

right now, it seems like still a lot of people are out into the streets, but protests are much more peaceful, much more quieter. there is a certain emotional feeling towards achieving some kind of victory that these protesters were willing to achieve yesterday. and, unfortunately, yesterday was quite a sad moment for georgia because obviously there were some violent clashes and a lot of people were quite desperate about the government's decision to pass this draught law. so when it comes to hopes that government would reverse its decision, i don't think many people expected this decision to be made this quickly, so there was definitely a certain feeling ofjoy today, but however a lot of people were also expressing doubts whether this would be actually put into action or not. but it seems so far

that the government will be doing what they promised to do. so far, they have asked the venice commission to withdraw their request to review this draught law, and ijust received information right now that tomorrow there will be a plenary session at the georgian parliament. so hopefully tomorrow will be the day when this law will be finally killed. yes, and i wonder what success for those protesters and demonstrators will look like. we know that plan now to drop the bill, but they have said the protests will continue. at what point do you expect they will say, ok, we have won we will go home? i think the ultimate success would be georgia getting the european union candidate status.

there are fears this would fundamentally damage georgia's aspirations and georgia would not be able to get the candidacy status with this law being passed. so now certainly hopes are higher, but this does not mean that georgia should just wait for this candidacy status to arrive, because we have 12 requirements that need to be fulfilled. and these requirements are quite complex requirements, starting from the reforms with rule of law to all sorts of different areas in which georgia needs to demonstrate some progress. so there is still a lot of effort to be put into this, and unfortunately the sad reality is that this bill was completely unnecessary. stay with us on outside source. still to come, childcare costs rise sharply across much of the uk, with many parents saying is now accounts for more than three quarters of their pay.

the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours, then, the soviet union lost an elderly, sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots from the gym, then they came out firing. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, - sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphisl jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. - paul, what�*s it feel like to be married at last?

it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? will it change your life, do you think? i don�*t know, really, i�*ve never been married before. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is — a wave of strikes across rain down across ukraine in which russia used powerful weapons, including rare hypersonic missiles. the un�*s nuclear watchdog warns of catastrophe in ukraine after shelling cut power to the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. here in the uk, the government is being warned that the cost of childcare is rising, making it increasingly difficult for many parents to go to work. the charity coram also says the number of places available is dropping and the system needs urgent reform. so, let�*s look at how much

parents are paying and how that compares globally. the uk is one of the most expensive countries in the world for childcare, third only to new zealand and switzerland. the average cost of a full—time nursery place for a child under two in great britain stands atjust under £15,000 a year. a couple on an average income in the uk will spend 29% of that on childcare. that�*s according to data from the oecd. in the us, a couple in the same position will pay 19% of their income on childcare, while in germany, it�*sjust 1% due to government subsidies. our correspondent hannah miller has been speaking to parents struggling with the cost of childcare. 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 at something you really enjoy and then you have to quit. i look forward to going back to nursing, my plan is to go back. if there'd been more options and if childcare was cheaper or more flexibility, that would have been something i would have definitely done. my wife looks after her full—time, but it does put a strain _ on the bank account, - especially with energy bills going up and stuff like that. childcare's something we've - considered, but unless you manage to get a job where the hourly pay is so much higher than the cost. of childcare, there's literally no point. i the government says it�*s spent £20 billion in the past five years to help families with childcare costs, but according to institute for fiscal studies, many parents don�*t know what they�*re entitled to. here�*s christine farquharson, a senior researcher from the institute for fiscal studies. people can�*t figure out what it is that they�*re entitled to and how they go about claiming it. so, universal credit for low—income families, take—up rates of less

than a quarter amongst preschoolers. tax—free childcare for slightly higher—income working families, only four in ten preschool parents have even heard of the programme. and then when you look at the free entitlement awareness of some of those extended funded hours, it�*s also much lower than the universal entitlement. it�*s really hard, if you�*re a parent, to figure out what you should do about childcare. kirsty lester is the managing director of sunbeams day care in dorset. she says while the government is providing more help than ever before, it still isn�*t enough. it's been a worry for the last three years. where can i make cuts? and we've gone to a point where there is nowhere else to make cuts. there are a lot of hidden costs that parents don't see and to provide a quality childcare service. and, you know, we wouldn't be charging as much now if we were getting more from the government for the bits that are supposed to be free. good—quality childcare costs money, so do we want quality and care for our under—fives or do we want a budget baby—sitting service? rachel statham is the associate

director for work and the welfare state at institute for public policy research, which is a progessive think—tank. what we're seeing is across i the country, notjust children missing out on vital early i education, but their parents being put under huge and growing financial strain from rising - childcare fees. so, this year, we're expecting to see i fees rise twice as fast as incomes _ that is a really dramatic picture in the background of the cost i crisis and parents of the youngest children being forced to make i the toughest choices between staying in work and putting their child - into childcare because some simply did not add up. - analysis has also shown that this comes at huge economic costs i as well not just for families, but for the wider economy. i

we have lost out this year on £13 billion of parent's i earnings because of wages forgone as parents have to reduce hours. or drop out of the workforce entirely due to those costs. | so is the answer here where we saw the difference between spending in the uk and for example in germany, where it isjust1%, is this just about more government subsidy? we definitely need more money put into the childcare system, - but also we need to see fundamental reform. i we heard childcare providers in your piece for whom it i is not adding up either. we know we need more action to deliver particularly - higher quality care. we need to make sure people stay i in those vitaljobs in every part i of the country, and we need action on affordability. - what we are looking _ for is a childcare guarantee that would stretch from the end - of parental leave through to the end of primary school offering every child the best start _ to early education. that would mean government needing to shift to free childcare _ and social infrastructure - as a really important economic infrastructure that it underpins the economy of the uk - as a whole.

as a result, families need that childcare in the earliest years. j and we know that that would come |with significant economic returns. | i estimating £8 billion of additionall tax—taking and lower social security spending if we reduce those barriers for working parents. _ you highlight there the economic costs. this is about the quality of care. this is notjust about paying for a baby—sitting service. it is about care for children at very formative ages. absolutely, so there's _ an increasing evidence base that shows how vital those i first five years for children development and educational| attainment through their lives and for their prospects in the world of work as well. _ and we're seeing right nowi in england a picture of deep and widening pre—k inequalities land childcare in a particularly. early education years, j good quality is a piece of the puzzle that could reduce government spending - and costs down the line. something completely different here if you see in italy it�*s woolly. the

sheep have taken over the city as part of a sustainable initiative to preserve the landscape. that is outside sources thursday. we will see you very soon, bye—bye. hello, good evening. still some more snowfall to come particularly for the northern half of the uk over the next couple of days or so. mild air in the south, a lot colder further north and then snowfall totals starting to rack up here in conwy. in wales, this this one snapped by one of our weather watchers earlier on today. some of the worst weather still to come overnight tonight. there are three amber weather warnings issued by the met office for heavy snow and ice, possibly too some freezing rain falling across northern areas of wales into western shropshire. some tricky travelling conditions, treacherous to over the pennines because there will be blizzard like conditions, strong gusty winds and some drifting snow. of course, too deep areas of low pressure pushing its way eastwards throughout the night. it will eventually clear by the end of the day tomorrow. still tonight, snow continues to fall particularly within the warning areas.

strong gusty winds, coastal gales on the back edge of the system towards exposed coasts. south—west down through the channel islands and there is a frost from the midlands northwards, too. again, temperatures as low as —14, —15 degrees for the highlands of scotland. into tomorrow morning, the early snow clears away from northern ireland and from the hills of wales, too, from the pennines by the time we get to the late morning, but the snow risk transfers itself further south as that colder air digging down further south as a system swells away. could be one or two showers tracking down on that northerly wind. lots of dry, bright weather tomorrow, but it will be feeling cold wherever you are with plenty of added wind—chill. winds will ease down on friday night, so with clearing skies away from the far south—west and those lighter winds, then it is quite likely we will see a sharp and widespread frost develop into the start of the weekend. temperatures in parts of northern england may be as low as —9 or —10 celsius, so a very frosty start to saturday morning.

on saturday, our weather system out towards the south—west is just pushing its way northwards and eastwards, bringing possibly a bit of snow to the moors in the south—west mostly falling as rain. some hill snow for wales and some hill snow to for northern ireland just approaching the north—west of england by the end of the afternoon, but drier further east with the snow risk transferring further eastwards as we head throughout the night. particularly for northern england and much of scotland by the time we get to sunday, it is unsettled. it is wet and windy, but it will be feeling milder.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this program. the bbc has just revealed its 2022 list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. so this week, we�*re celebrating the achievements of female tech innovators. shiona meets an absolute legend

of the sporting world to find out how tech is transforming her game.