we'll hear from the front line. japan's fukushima nuclear plant moves a step closer to releasing treated contaminated water into the pacific ocean. schools shut across england — with teachers striking again over pay and conditions. hello. we start with ukraine — and a new appeal by president volodymyr zelensky, for more long—range weapons. speaking ahead of a crucial nato summit next week — mr zelensky said it was "very difficult" to fight russia without them. and he said the decision to supply long—range weapons "depends only" on washington. it comes as ukraine's counter—offensive is making slow progress in the face of fierce

russian resistance. our correspondent, andrew harding, has been to the front line in eastern ukraine — and he sent this report. ukrainian troops barely flinch as another russian shell hits the front lines close to bakhmut. for a month now, the counteroffensive has raged here. davai, davai! come on, come on. the commander urges his men forwards. and they are making progress, but it's slow work. too slow for some. i step on the russian mine. this soldier lost his foot to a mine a while back and has now recovered and is fighting again. but he's worried. yes, we need help. we need more artillery systems. we need more, more, more weapons. and without that? without that i think probably, we have... we will lose this game. you're going to lose? yes.

the counter offensive is certainly proving costly for ukraine. another casualty arrives at a field hospital on the southern front. oleh is just 19 years old. he was wounded in the back this morning by shrapnel from a mortar. despite the rising ukrainian casualty rate, despite scenes like this, it is important to remember that ukraine's counteroffensive is still in its very early stages. it's not appropriate yet to judge whether it's been a failure or a success. drone footage of russian forces near the southern city of kherson. ukraine, has launched a surprise attack here, forcing these troops to retreat, probing russia's defences, as you might in a long game of chess, because this is a slow

process, notjust on the front lines. here, a huge russian ammunition store near donetsk is targeted. it's part of ukraine's plan to weaken the enemy before the counteroffensive moves up another gear. "everyone is waiting for that.", says army doctor yevgen. "we wait and we believe that everything will be fine." "we just need to be patient." but that patience comes at a high price. 19—year—old oleh is taken away in a british ambulance, funded by private donors. he's stable, but his spine is damaged. he may never walk again. andrew harding, bbc news, ukraine. injapan, the operator of the wrecked fukushima nuclear power plant, says it's been given the green light to prepare for releasing treated

contaminated water into the ocean. more than a million tonnes of treated waste water has accumulated there since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami severely damaged the plant. the operator — tepco — said it had received the safety certification from japan's nuclear regulator and that all preconditions for the start of the discharge had been met. speaking earlier in tokyo, the head of the un's nuclear watchdog, rafael grossi, said he was extremely confident in his agency's assessment that releasing the water would be safe. i don't have the authority, or the iea does not or the iaea does not have the authority, to stop or to start anything. this is a sovereign decision byjapan and by the operator, when they start, when they stop. what we do is we provide a technical impartial review.

if at any point in the process we detect a problem or something which is outside the parameters... what are my basic parameters? it's the conformity with the internationally agreed safety standards. so it's very clear. it's not my opinion, or my perception, which is highly subjective. or the perception and the opinions of others, which is also subjective. that was rafael grossi of the iaea speaking earlier. dr olena pareniuk is an expert in nuclear safety. she gave us her assessment of japan's proposal. the system is efficient because tepco wants to ensure the water quality they are releasing and they also want to ensure that the water quality of the ocean will be fine. so they are basically removing almost all of the radionuclides from that water, except for radioactive hydrogen, which is tritium.

you cannot remove hydrogen from water. so that's why we say that the water is radioactive because it contains a little bit of radionuclide that cannot be removed. on the other hand, the half—life of tritium is 11 years and it has been already more than 11 years past the accident. it means that at least half of the tritium is already decayed. tepco claims that they will release the water really slowly and it will give even more time for tritium to decay in this water. a number of environmental groups aren't convinced with the release of this water. they don't agree with it. certainly, greenpeace has accused tokyo of violating the un convention on the law of the sea. as far as your understanding goes, have they violated that un convention?

well, i think, for me, it might be a really complicated question because they have two different options. they can either store this water and it will really harm the environment on the mainland, on the soil, because it is a huge amount of water, or they can gradually release the water, which will eventually dissolve in the ocean and it will not harm the ocean, for sure. us treasury secretary janet yellen has expressed concern about what she called china's unfair trade practices. speaking at the start of a four—day visit to beijing, she called for direct and clear lines of communication between the two governments. she said that decoupling the world's two largest economies would be virtually impossible.

china's premier said that he could see, in his words, "a new rainbow in his country's relationship with the us." here's what ms yellen said a little earlier. the us seeks healthy economic competition with china. but healthy economic competition where both sides benefit is only sustainable if that competition is fair. during meetings with my counterparts, i'm communicating the concerns i have heard from the us business community, including china's use of non—market tools like expanded subsidies for its state owned enterprises and domestic firms, as well as barriers to market access for foreign firms. i've been particularly troubled by punitive actions that have been taken against us firms in recent months. i am also concerned about new export controls, recently announced by china on two critical minerals, used in technologies like semiconductors. we're still evaluating

the impact of these actions. that was the us treasury secretary janet yellen. our correspondent joins us now. rupert, you have been following this trip closely for us. what more did janet yellen happy to say? what more did janet yellen happy to sa ? ,, , , , , _, , say? the us business community in bei'ina and say? the us business community in beijing and in _ say? the us business community in beijing and in china _ say? the us business community in beijing and in china specifically, - beijing and in china specifically, and the concerns they have clearly raised with her about market access, and what he talked about as punitive actions against us businesses in china. the fact that this year, we have seen several us businesses investigated with some of their staff arrested, and at least one closed down. that has caused a great

deal of concern, i think, for the safety of us companies operating in china. there is also concern that china. there is also concern that china isn't really giving proper open free market access to us companies, according to wto rules, and china finds ways to discriminate and china finds ways to discriminate and keep out certain us companies that it doesn't want to compete in the chinese markets. but there are a whole host of other problems in the relationship that janet yellen will have been addressing directly with her chinese counterparts. as well as reassuring them, because she has also given the message that she has gone to beijing to reassure china that the united states is not intent on containing or constraining china's rise as an economic power. in terms of her stressing that disputes shouldn't come between the two countries, particularly in harming economic relations, how realistic is that? just go through the disputes, or the number of

issues that the us and china, and allies of the us, i've come at loggerheads with. it allies of the us, i've come at loggerheads with.— allies of the us, i've come at loggerheads with. it is quite a long list. there is... _ loggerheads with. it is quite a long list. there is... the _ loggerheads with. it is quite a long list. there is... the us _ loggerheads with. it is quite a long list. there is... the us criticises i list. there is... the us criticises china very much over its human rights record in shenyang, with the human rights record of ethnic muslim uyghurs, and the suppression of democratic freedoms in hong kong. there are territorial disputes, with china's claim to tie one being the biggest and most dangerous, but also the south china sea. the us navy and air force patrol those areas, and very often come up against chinese ships and aircraft, and those incidents have become more and more dangerous. those encounters in the air and at sea. there is fear in the united states that china has come to dominate some of the world's key industries. everything from the production of graphite to solar panels. and that that is a threat, long term. the west in general,

america and its allies, japan and europe should not become too dependent on one source for so much of what is needed to run the world's economy, and that is why janet yellen now talks about diversifying away from china, maintaining relations with china, maintaining trade with them, but not relying wholeheartedly or completely on china as the sole supplier of really, really important thing is for the world economy.- really, really important thing is for the world economy. there are some great _ for the world economy. there are some great sound _ for the world economy. there are some great sound bites - for the world economy. there are some great sound bites there. i for the world economy. there are | some great sound bites there. we for the world economy. there are - some great sound bites there. we are talking about seeing more rainbows after going through the wind and the rain, and obviously, janet yellen saying don't let disputes come between us. but after this visit is over, what are each of the country is hoping to come away with? i think the fact that — is hoping to come away with? i think the fact that she _ is hoping to come away with? i think the fact that she is _ is hoping to come away with? i think the fact that she is there _ is hoping to come away with? i think the fact that she is there talking - the fact that she is there talking is really the most important point of this trip. i don't think she will come away with anything concrete, nice music there with the chinese premier saying that when you play

touchdown in beijing, there was a rainbow, so we are seeing a rainbow after years of rain and winds. —— when your plane touched down. so a signal that he hopes the relationship is getting back onto a better footing, relationship is getting back onto a betterfooting, but i relationship is getting back onto a better footing, but i think the relationship has fundamentally changed, and these are strategic competitors on all levels, and this is a relationship at the us and china need to carefully manage, so that they don't let that deteriorate into what could be an open trade war, orworst into what could be an open trade war, or worst of all, an actual military complex.— war, or worst of all, an actual military complex. thank you very much for that. _ military complex. thank you very much for that. speaking - military complex. thank you very much for that. speaking to - military complex. thank you very much for that. speaking to us - military complex. thank you very l much for that. speaking to us from bangkok. —— an actual military conflict. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. the first group to qualify as doctors by completing the six year medicine with foundation year course at the university of leicester. it was designed for students from less traditional backgrounds, such as areas with low participation in higher education. rees is the first

in his family to go to university. without this course, i don't think i'd be able to do this career, and pursue what is ultimately, what i want to do in life. it pursue what is ultimately, what i want to do in life.— want to do in life. it takes an extra year — want to do in life. it takes an extra year of _ want to do in life. it takes an extra year of study _ want to do in life. it takes an extra year of study to - want to do in life. it takes an extra year of study to make i want to do in life. it takes an i extra year of study to make up want to do in life. it takes an - extra year of study to make up for the lower grades, but the course leader says it is worth it. sometimes, people look at attainment as the _ sometimes, people look at attainment as the sole _ sometimes, people look at attainment as the sole reason to choose the right _ as the sole reason to choose the right person to do a medical degree. it is right person to do a medical degree. it is very— right person to do a medical degree. it is very competitive, and some people _ it is very competitive, and some heapie say— it is very competitive, and some people say then that if you have the student _ people say then that if you have the student with three a star is, why would _ student with three a star is, why would you — student with three a star is, why would you take a student with three bees _ would you take a student with three bees but— would you take a student with three bees. but my argument to that would bees. but my argument to that would he that— bees. but my argument to that would be that actually, there is more to being _ be that actually, there is more to being a _ be that actually, there is more to being a good doctor thenjust intellectual attainment. for being a good doctor then 'ust intellectual attainment. for more stories from _ intellectual attainment. for more stories from across _ intellectual attainment. for more stories from across the _ intellectual attainment. for more stories from across the uk, - intellectual attainment. for more stories from across the uk, head| intellectual attainment. for more i stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you are life with bbc news. —— you are live. delegates from 175 countries at the international maritime organisation have reached a deal on sharply reducing carbon emissions from the shipping industry.

the hope is to reach net zero in carbon dioxide emissions by around 2050. there will also be a set of incremental targets to reduce emissions by at least 20% by 2030 and by 70% by 2040. currently, shipping makes a large contribution to global emissions. live now to our environment correspondent, matt mcgrath in cardiff. hello to you matt. just break down exactly what those figures mean, and how much pressure has there been on the industry for this new move? shipping is a critical part of all our lives. it brings about 90% of the goods that are traded and consumed around the world do those consumers. but shipping hasn't really been subject to restrictions on its carbon emissions, because shipping is very complicated. lots of countries have flags of

convenience, ships are owned in some countries and registered in others, so when the paris agreement was put together in 2015, shipping was one of the areas excluded. they have tried to get their act together and put in place targets over the next number of years, not very high targets, so this meeting this week in london is seen as crucial and critical in strengthening those targets, and hundred and 75 countries have agreed on this net zero by around 2050, and a set of intermediate targets. that can be seen as quite good progress in many ways, because they're coming from a low base, but green groups say it is a real nonentity, and they are not doing enough, and essentially not meeting the science to keep global temperatures and check the century. any indication as to how they will do this? ., any indication as to how they will do this? . ., , ., , ., , do this? there are a number of plans in lace, do this? there are a number of plans in place. they — do this? there are a number of plans in place, they want _ do this? there are a number of plans in place, they want to _ do this? there are a number of plans in place, they want to change - do this? there are a number of plans in place, they want to change the - in place, they want to change the kind of fuels that ships use. they will do perhaps have ships go slower as they sail around the world. one big idea which is still on the table and are seen a very important one for developing countries is the idea

of a carbon levy or carbon tax, so every tonne of carbon that a ship uses, essentially, they would have to pay $100 or the equivalent in the years to come. some countries believe that rather than the target or net zero, this is actually one of the most crucial aspect of it, because by itself, if this is put into place, and it is still a biggie, if it's... that over the years, which with the financial penalty on ships to reduce those emissions, and eventually see those emissions, and eventually see those emissions drop much quicker than the headline target would indicate. just to clari , headline target would indicate. just to clarify, are you saying people would be able to trade their emissions for example? so if they are high emitters of co2, they would pay a levy or sell it to another country? isn't something they do that they do with carbon taxes, green carbon taxes? the that they do with carbon taxes, green carbon taxes? the details of how this would _ green carbon taxes? the details of how this would work _ green carbon taxes? the details of how this would work in _ green carbon taxes? the details of how this would work in practice - green carbon taxes? the details of how this would work in practice i l how this would work in practice i get worked out, what is really important is that the idea of a levy is ready still on the table. what it would be used for, to help developing countries to clean the shipping, or dealwith developing countries to clean the shipping, or deal with the impacts of climate change, those countries

remain unanswered at this point in time. —— those questions. the key thing is they have agreed to a net zero target by around 2050, and the by around is essentially to keep china happy, because they don't want to be stuck with a strict 2050 target, but also, the idea that there would be some means or measure to raise funding from shipping in the decades to come, by means of some kind of levy. the details, and the devil will be in those details. thank you very much indeed. thousands of teachers in england are staging strike action for the second time this week in their dispute about pay and conditions. the national education union has said an offer of six point 5% which is reported to have been recommended by the independent pay review body, might be enough to stop further walk—outs. but the education minister, robert halfon, said any decision would have to take into account the huge challenges faced by the government. live now to our education correspondent, harry farley.

you are in redding, which is in the south of england. how is that straight going on?— south of england. how is that straight going on? that is right, i am here in _ straight going on? that is right, i am here in reading, _ straight going on? that is right, i am here in reading, and - straight going on? that is right, i am here in reading, and behind. straight going on? that is right, i i am here in reading, and behind me you can see members of the national education union gathered for a rally. they will march down the main high street here to the town hall. many schools in england are closed, or at least partially closed today. we spent the morning at one primary school in the edges of reading here, thatis school in the edges of reading here, that is at least partially open. i spoke to parents there, and i have to say that many we spoke to, at least many of the parents we spoke to were supportive of the strikes. they said they felt that teachers did an importantjob, and didn't get enough pay for what they did. one or two did express concern, but there seems to be no end in the strike. there are no current ongoing talks between the government and the unions, and that is of course because as you mentioned, we are waiting for this report by the independent pay review body, the body that makes a recommendation to the government to what the teacher's

pay should be. we are waiting for that to be published. a leak suggest that to be published. a leak suggest that the recommendation is that teachers get 6.5% increase next year, and thejoint teachers get 6.5% increase next year, and the joint general secretary of the national education union said that she put her members would accept that 6.5% increase, as long as it didn't come out of schools existing budgets. the department for education said that they have already made a £2 billion investment for the next school year from that independent pay review body. from that independent pay review bod . from that independent pay review bod _ , , from that independent pay review bod. , ,., from that independent pay review bod. , body. so, this is about pay and conditions. _ body. so, this is about pay and conditions. i— body. so, this is about pay and conditions. i wonder _ body. so, this is about pay and conditions. i wonder if - body. so, this is about pay and conditions. i wonder if you - body. so, this is about pay and. conditions. i wonder if you could outline the issue with the conditions?— outline the issue with the conditions? , ., conditions? schools... funding to schools is under _ conditions? schools... funding to schools is under significant - schools is under significant pressure, and teachers say this is notjust pressure, and teachers say this is not just about pay, pressure, and teachers say this is notjust about pay, but pressure, and teachers say this is not just about pay, but also pressure, and teachers say this is notjust about pay, but also about the level of funding for schools generally, and the conditions they have, and the level of facilities they have in classrooms. apologies for that. teachers are asking for

better conditions, as well as better pay, and as you can see behind me, members of the national education unionjust about to members of the national education union just about to set off for their march down the may high street here in redding.— their march down the may high street here in redding. thank you very much indeed. -- domain _ here in redding. thank you very much indeed. -- domain the _ here in redding. thank you very much indeed. -- domain the high _ here in redding. thank you very much indeed. -- domain the high street. i now, it's not much more than 2a hours old and it's already becoming the fastest growing app of all time. threads — the social media platform launched by meta to rival twitter — has signed up more than 30 million users — according to meta boss, mark zuckerberg. many users say that reds strongly resembles twitter. now twitter is threatening legal action — accusing meta of engaging in systemic, wilful and unlawful misappropriation of twitter�*s trade secrets and intellectual property. a futuristic tech analyst.

have you had a look at threads? what you think? edit have you had a look at threads? what ou think? .., , have you had a look at threads? what ou think? _, , .,, ., , have you had a look at threads? what outhink? , ., , , you think? of course, as many people however, you think? of course, as many people however. it — you think? of course, as many people however. it is — you think? of course, as many people however, it is now _ you think? of course, as many people however, it is now about _ you think? of course, as many people however, it is now about 50 _ you think? of course, as many people however, it is now about 50 million i however, it is now about 50 million people that have signed up. it has been almost 48 hours now, and there has been 95 billion post on there, so therefore, people are liking and using it. it is a stripped down version of twitter, and in reality, it's kind of secret sauce, or it's kind of key feature is this distribution mode. it is linked into instagram, and because it is linkedin, 2.3 billion users, only have to click a couple of buttons and you are following the same people on instagram. it has gone viral and is growing quicker than anything else that has ever existed, so 50 billion users in less than 48 hours. —— 50 million. so 50 billion users in less than 48 hours. -- 50 million.— hours. -- 50 million. what is the law on the _ hours. -- 50 million. what is the law on the look _ hours. -- 50 million. what is the law on the look of _ hours. -- 50 million. what is the law on the look of something? isj law on the look of something? is there a copyright on the intellectual property on that?

because you look at it, and it does look very much like twitter? what is the law on that? is it more the tech behind it, or the representation of the brand, the image? i behind it, or the representation of the brand, the image?— the brand, the image? i think it de-ends the brand, the image? i think it depends which _ the brand, the image? i think it depends which country - the brand, the image? i think it depends which country you - the brand, the image? i think it depends which country you are l the brand, the image? i think it i depends which country you are in. this is the big thing for all tech, of course. this is the thing about al at the moment, that european law ai at the moment, that european law is looking at who borrowed from who, and who took the data from where, and who took the data from where, and this is the biggest point of this whole thing. the actual ux of it, i don't think is particularly defensible, microblog isn't a brand—new idea. many people have come up with this, blue sky is another version of it, there is mastodon, which is another version. i think twitter�*s boss elon musk is very cross about this happening, and it does happen when twitter is really on its knees, may be due to its own actions. —— his own actions. he is bringing out his own lawyers, and maybe he can bring out his lawyers for the whole world, we will wait and see. but it is funny that

apparently mark and him will be having a fight within an octagon, that you may be sought on social media, that is a bit silly.- media, that is a bit silly. yes, i think we have _ media, that is a bit silly. yes, i think we have all _ media, that is a bit silly. yes, i think we have all been - media, that is a bit silly. yes, i | think we have all been watching that. in terms of where it will be limited for accessing what do we know about that? the limited for accessing what do we know about that?— know about that? the access of course, know about that? the access of course. we _ know about that? the access of course, we have _ know about that? the access of course, we have to _ know about that? the access of course, we have to think- know about that? the access of course, we have to think about| know about that? the access of. course, we have to think about it may be a slightly different way. this is also a data play by matter, facebook, and mark saka bowed and these are the massive corporations, and should they be allowed to own all of this? whether you like elon musk or not, he was different to mark zuckerberg, and of course data feeds ai, and metal want to get into ai. so the question is whether our laws are strong enough, it seems to be that you are kissing at the moment, we have to look at this, europe is banning it at the moment, but we are not, because we are not

part of europe, so we are not protected by that, so it will be interesting to see, can we actually stop it? you have to remember that this is the fastest—growing thing ever. it took chatgpt only a few days to go so many viewers. irate ever. it took chatgpt only a few days to go so many viewers. we are runnina days to go so many viewers. we are running out — days to go so many viewers. we are running out of _ days to go so many viewers. we are running out of time, _ days to go so many viewers. we are running out of time, but _ days to go so many viewers. we are running out of time, but how- days to go so many viewers. we are running out of time, but how muchl running out of time, but how much does meta or twitter or elon musk need those users? —— to get so many users. you'll it is the most important thing, the number of users, as twitter starts to go down, it loses advertising. and you have to remember that if you are not buying a product on the internet, you are the product, so we are the way this is funded, if you look at the advertising. thank you very much for that. absolutely fascinating. plenty more coming up at the top of the hour. stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. for many of us today

it's going to be dry, it's going to be sunny, it's going to be warm or hot and it's going to be increasingly feeling more humid, as well. temperatures today in the south—east could get up to 29 degrees. locally, even 30 degrees, but widely we're looking at the low 20s to the mid—20s. pollen levels across england and wales today are high, and we're talking grass pollen, but we are coming now towards the end of the grass pollen season. we've had some rain across northern ireland and scotland courtesy of this weather front, which is now waving back into the atlantic. we're sucking up all this humid air from the near continent. a lot of dry weather as we go through the rest of today. again, a lot of sunshine. one or two showers are possible across scotland and northern ireland, they might turn out to be heavy and thundery, but there will be a lot of sunshine around them and still windy out towards the west in particular. temperatures 16 in lerwick to 29 or 30 somewhere in the south—east,

but even around the moray firth, we could see into the mid—20s. for wimbledon today it's going to be dry. there should be no interruptions to play due to the weather. 27 degrees being the top temperature and turning increasingly humid through the day. it's the same for headingley. a dry day today, dry evening and, again, sunny and hot with the humidity levels rising through the day. as we head through the evening and overnight, there will be clear skies, still quite windy out towards the west and then we've got the arrival of the next weather front coming in from the south—west introducing thicker cloud and also some showery outbreaks of rain. these are our overnight lows, 11 to 18 degrees, but don't forget, it is going to feel humid. it will be a humid start to the day tomorrow, but, for many, it will be dry, it will be sunny, but here's our weather front, which will be coming in overnight, moving steadily northwards and eastwards. some of this will be heavy and also thundery. it's likely to cause some interruption to play tomorrow at wimbledon and headingley. these are our temperatures — 17 to about 29 degrees north to south.

as we head on into sunday things start to change. our first weather front clears off, but we do have a lot of showers packing in behind. now, don't take this as gospel because our models have been changing and they could change again, but it's looking like it's going to be a showery day with some sunshine in between, with highs up to about 23.

"we can see a rainbow" — the chinese premier is upbeat as he sits down with the us treasury secretary for high stakes talks aimed at easing us—china tensions.