since the spring. we'll bring you an exclusive report from ukraine's eastern front as russian drones target ukrainian forces. there are vicious battles going on here in the east and the north. the south are making progress bit by bit, but here in the east, it's russia that's advancing. hello, i'm maryam moshiri, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we start in florida, where hurricane idalia has made landfall in the big bend region, bringing with it winds of 125 miles per hour and potentially life—threatening conditions. these are some of the latest pictures of hurricane idalia, which is now a category 3 storm bringing a storm surge of sea

water of up to 16 feet— or almost 5 metres, overwhelming low lying areas. more than a million people have been told to leave their homes as evacuation orders are in place for 28 counties. the us national weather service says idalia made landfall near the town of keaton beach. our correspondentjohn sudworth is in florida and sent this report. the unusually warm conditions in the gulf of mexico have fuelled the hurricane, though it's not the wind speeds that pose the greatest threat to life, but the storm surge, as large amounts of seawater are forced into florida's low—lying coastal communities. with more than 20 counties under evacuation orders, for days, the authorities have been warning those residents unable to stay with friends or relatives to head for the emergency shelters. this is my first evacuation in my entire life and it's just difficult.

in your neighbourhood, have some people chosen to stay, do you know? yes. some have chosen to stay. what do you think about that? i mean, it's up to them. it's their choice. but i highly recommend for them to evacuate because it's their safety, it's their lives on the line. yeah, they want to bring me here, bring me there. i ain't going nowhere. this old man... i'm 71 years old, i've got 19 great—granddaughters. you live near water, you're going to get a wet butt once in a while, and that's just the way it is. you know, if not, don't live by the water. that's all i can tell you. forecasters have now adjusted the predicted track for this hurricane, taking it towards an area of the state of florida known as the big bend, where the florida panhandle bends round into the peninsula. and there, with reports that dozens of people are still holding out in their homes, the authorities

are making increasingly desperate appeals for them to heed the warnings and get out. the national hurricane center expects storm surge to reach up to 16 feet in some areas of the big bend region. that level of storm surge is life—threatening. do not go outside in the midst of this storm. if it's calm where you are, it may be because you are in the eye of the storm and those conditions will change. officials in florida are repeatedly using the word "catastrophic" to describe the potential impact. more than 5,000 national guard members are on standby, as are nearly 40,000 electrical engineers, with major power cuts expected.

let me bring you some live pictures now. we saw these pictures earlier of an interstate in tampa in florida. as you can see, the storm surge is pushing those waves, pushing the sea closer to the interstate highway. the waves are currently crashing against the side of that road. of the last few hours, we have heard that since landfall, the expectation is that this storm is, despite the fact that it has been downgraded to category three, is going to cause damage. how much and where is yet to be revealed, but the florida governor ron desantis said he expects huge storm surges of up said he expects huge storm surges of up to 16 feet or 4.8 metres. we also know from john's piece that thousands of personnel are going to be deployed to try to get power back to houses across florida. many are already without electricity. you can

watch more live pictures from florida by going to the bbc�*s live page and clicking the button at the top of the page. earlier i spoke to our correspondent john sudworth, who gave me the latest from tampa in florida. i'm in tampa, and as you can see, the streets of this city are pretty quiet today for a population of some 400,000 people. the hurricane has largely passed us by, which will be a relief here. this city was fairly close to the original predicted track. it is now making landfall, as you say, a little bit further north in the big bend region of the state. now, there's some good news there. that is a relatively less populated part of florida. lots of marshy swampland, but there are, of course, a number of communities there, towns and villages.

and the concern, a real concern for the authorities, is the risk posed by this storm surge that you've been talking about and in particular, for those residents who have failed to heed the warnings to leave. right up until this storm began to make landfall, the authorities were saying to those who hadn't yet got out who might still be able to move to safer areas to do so with urgency, because the emergency services have been saying once this thing makes landfall, it will be impossible to rescue people. conditions will be too dangerous for fire crews and the police, and that people will really then be on their own. absolutely, john. and we're hearing that there will be thousands of personnel dispatched ready to help restore power in many areas because governor desantis was talking about how huge swathes of areas have no power at all. yeah, we've already got reports of the first power cuts as florida wakes up this morning.

they are likely to get much worse, governor desantis repeatedly saying that if you are in the path of this storm, expect to lose power. tens of thousands of engineers are on standby, as well as tens of thousands of members of the national guard. that gives you a sense of the kind of impact that florida is expecting from this storm. as it begins to make landfall now, the next few hours will be very crucial in terms of telling us exactly how how bad this is going to be in terms of the effect on those communities and the people who find themselves directly in the way. as always, you can go to our website to get the latest on what is happening in florida. now to kyiv, where officials say it has been hit by the most powerful

attack since spring as ukraine and russia launch a wave of air strikes against each other. moscow says ukrainian drones have targeted at least six russian regions, warning that attacks on its soil will not go "unpunished. ukraine says it was targeted by a wave of russian cruise missiles and drones, but shot down nearly all of them. the mayor of kyiv says two people were killed and two others were injured by falling debris. these are the moments the debris fell to ground in kyiv — as you can see, there was a large explosion when it came down. and this is more video from kyiv — it's not clear if this is a separate incident, or the same debris filmed from another angle. kamikaze drones are also being used. kyiv and is hoping to split the areas you see here in red, occupied by moscow, so it can reach the sea,

but progress has been slow. in the north—east of the country of ukraine, russia itself is pushing forwards toward scorpions. 0ur correspondent reports from the eastern front line, where he spent the last few weeks speaking to ukrainian soldiers and civilians who are being bombarded by russian artillery. the battle on ukraine's eastern front has reawakened. it's in these fields and trenches that the conflict now burns at its hottest, ukraine says. there's been a lot of russian activity in this area over the past couple of days. in fact, there were air strikes in the village just behind me. so we're now having to move before dawn to get to the trenches. south of kupiansk, they cast russian forces out of here almost a year ago, but their enemy is threatening to return. beyond these fields,

russia has advanced in recent weeks. the men of the 68th jager brigade, newly installed, are here to ensure that they go no further. they are up against infantry and artillery attacks daily along these lines. you can see here, that's outgoing artillery. along the front, it's said some 100,000 russian troops have gathered in newly—formed battle groups. some, beyond this tree line. now, if you look all around here, there's been incoming fire here. there's lots of damage. so there's plenty of trench positions to take cover in. it's easy to forget — with so much focus on the counter—offensive in the south of ukraine — that there are vicious battles going on here in the east and the north.

in the south, they're making progress, bit by bit. but here in the east, it's russia that's advancing. this is a war on many fronts, and it's straining russia's resources, but it's also straining ukraine's, too. so in the south and the east, the demands on ukrainian forces are rising. this is front line, front line. i cannot go. andriy�*s taking us forward. but a russian drone spotted his vehicle before we took cover. "we must go," he says, "get in the car!" a dozen shells land in as many minutes. we need to get it together, come on. we first met andriy injune, when he was fighting in the southern counter—offensive around velyka novosilka. "this eastern front is far deadlier," he says. translation: velyka novosilka

was less dangerous. _ there were far fewer soldiers there than there are here. and they have more weapons here, more of everything. that's why it's more dangerous here. its gains are modest, but from kupiansk to lyman, further south, russia is resurgent. and in the serebryans'kyy forest, it's especially fierce. we're heading deep into this forest. there's been a lot of fighting here. this is artillery strike this morning, maybe a couple of hours ago. can you see it is still burning? all this road is shelled by drones and missile systems. can you see it? no tops of the trees. the men compare the artillery barrages to the first world war�*s verdun. but there is a new lethal threat

to contend with here. kamikaze drones. the gunner has fallen inside. he's unhurt, he signals. that was a drone attack against our car. that was a drone, russian drone. so they saw us, they send a 50—metre drone, and now they are seeking us and hunting us, so we need to go faster. they're just a couple of hundred metres from our position. the drones work in pairs. a surveillance drone is still up above, so they get off the road. so we've had to stop going forward because the danger here is, the deeper you get into the forest, cover

doesn't get better. there's constant russian artillery, setting some of the trees on fire, and it's turning these areas into wide—open areas, very exposed. there's no tree cover here, so we've had to come off the road. there are drones up above, and we just saw what they can do. the humvees' thick armour and the driver's quick thinking means that everybody inside was unhurt. but of course, civilians along these re—ignited front lines have no such protection. young and old, villagers around kupiansk are being evacuated from their homes. they are now in range of russian guns, and russia doesn't discriminate. last year, they endured six months of occupation here. they refuse to again.

once more on the eastern front, the advance of russian guns is casting ukrainian families apart. viktor gives his family a final hug before they separate. sophia is just five months old — too precious to remain in harm's way. why are you leaving? translation: because it's very scary to live here. - i want to safeguard my children. it's very scary not knowing if the shelling will hit or not, if we will survive or not. viktor hoped that he was done with goodbyes... ..but as russia advances, he's once again left praying that

he'll see his family again. quentin somerville, bbc news, kupiansk. let's get some of the day's other news now. the man who was chief executive of the nhs trust where lucy letby murdered seven babies wrote in a now—deleted blog about being "persuaded" to run a london trust by a senior nhs england boss. tony chambers went on to get three senior nhs jobs following the serial killer's arrest. nhs england said its london region was unaware of the murder probe. the property website zoopla says the number of houses sold in the uk this year is on track to be the lowest in more than a decade. around one million sales are set to be completed, down almost a fifth from last year. the cost of mortgages and rents have risen sharply since banks

started increasing rates on lending. hundreds of tents have been left behind at campsites following leeds festival at the weekend. drone footage shows camping equipment littered all over the fields at bramham park. volunteers and charities who visited the site to salvage the tents described it as "appalling". this year, the festival featured headline acts including billie eilish, the 1975 and lewis capaldi. you're live with bbc news. four women who were all raped by the same man have waived their anonymity to campaign for better treatment for rape victims in the justice system. 23—year—old logan doig was sentenced to nine and a half years, with a further three years extended sentence, at glasgow's high court last month. our reporter catriona renton has been speaking to three of the women about supporting each other in court and making it easier to get justice in scotland. i don't think any of us realised once we walked out of these doors seven weeks ago

what was about to happen. recreating the selfies they took after their court ordeal was finally over. hannah reid, hannah mclaughlin and jennifer mccann's pictures on social media symbolised the strength of their unique bond. along with holly prowse, who couldn't be there for our interview, the young women waived their anonymity. 23—year—old logan doig was found guilty of raping four women and sexually attacking three of them and another between march 2015 and november 2020. two of his victims were teenagers at the time. injuly, he was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. two and a half years ago, we were victims of the system. that day, we stood together to see that sentence be handed down. the women told me how they had gradually become aware of each other

and started to chat. none of us would have any reason to know each other. he's the only common denominator, and that's the only reason we do know each other. we all came together in a group chat that was called safe space, and that's just exactly what it was. we soon began to realise that we'd actually experienced near enough the same. without each other and without that group chat, we never would have made it to trial. what we're doing isjust to help people in the future, people who come after us. we gain absolutely nothing from this. we are just trying to, to the best of our ability, use our awful experiences to help other people and help bring the changes that need to happen. from start to finish, the process was long and draining. there was a time that each and every one of us wanted to drop out - and be finished with it. it was such a long, horrible process. it was just so consuming for those two and a half years, and we couldn't move on with our life. how do you feel victims are treated? terribly. there needs to be stricter guidelines on what defence lawyers can say to a victim giving evidence, because you aren't treated like a human, you're just treated like a bit of evidence and it's disgusting.

it's so retraumatising. we've put ourselves through this, come out battered and bruised by the end, and we have essentially got a serial rapist and abuser locked away. so he's not going to hurt anyone else. and that's why we did all this. we were lucky enough to have each other. other people don't, and that's one of the main things for us because in hindsight, looking back, some of us can see so clearly why people on their own would drop their charges. but obviously at that moment, we hopped on the group chat. and even after logan doig was found guilty, the women felt they weren't given a chance to be heard. in scotland, it is not standard practice for victim impact statements to be read out in full in court. we were under the impression that if we wanted to, we could read our victim impact statements. we never got to. it was never even offered. it was never a suggestion. actually, we were told it doesn't look good if you do. having that opportunity to directly say to them, but he had already been convicted.

having that opportunity to directly say to them, this is what you did, and making them listen to how it did impact your life and also where you are now in position you are in now, i almost feel a bit cheated because he was cold and callous on a stand, worse when you do the victim impact statement, there is that emotional side to it and you should be given that opportunity. we're turning our pain into power and trying to make a difference for those that are coming behind us. live now to speak to our reporter catriona renton. thanks for that report. what does this tell us about the justice system in scotland, particularly when it comes to rape cases? well, we know that _ when it comes to rape cases? well, we know that rape _ when it comes to rape cases? well, we know that rape is _ when it comes to rape cases? -ii we know that rape is notoriously underreported and we know that the number of convictions ever get to court are about 51%. that compares to 91% for all other crimes. i should say that that is rape and attempted rape. we have probably answered your question there by hearing what the women have said

about the experience they went through. they have been to see the lord advocate, dorothy bain, kc, and they put to her the expenses they felt could have been made betterfor them at court. for example, they could have had better guidance on what to expect when they got to court to feel that they were not just there as pieces of evidence, as they called themselves, but as human beings, that they were not liars having to prove themselves innocent, which is again what they feel they had to do. of course, the court process is that the accused is innocent until proven guilty and people do have to fight a case. but these women are saying that there was such an unpleasant, horrible experience for them to go through that why would people report in the first place if they have to go through such a lengthy process and then be retraumatised in court? they have been suggesting the idea of jury have been suggesting the idea of jury list trials —— juryless trials

and pre—recorded evidence, which would mean people wouldn't have to go over and over again what happened to them several years down the line. these are ideas which are in the scottish government's victims and witness bill, which is currently making its way through the scottish parliament. these are ideas that may come to fruition, informed by people like these brave young women who have spoken out, waving their anonymity because they feel the only way they got through this experience was by being together, supporting each other through the experience. they said it had they been on their own, they probably would have dropped out. own, they probably would have drapped out-— own, they probably would have dro ed out. ., ., ., ., ., ~ dropped out. catriona renton, thank ou. and if you've been affected by any of the issues raised in that interview, there is a list of organisations it's on the bbc action line

website, which is bbc.co.uk/actionline. let's go back to florida and some live pictures. you can see the storm said hitting against the interstate in tampa. it's looking quite windy. it is looking like the sea is quite strong right now. we know the hurricane made landfall around an hour ago and it hit the key to an area of florida. this is gainesville. you can see the wind is so strong. look at the palm trees in the way they are almost being bent in one direction. florida governor ron desantis has warned people to stay inside and stay safe, because this storm is expected to wreak havoc on so many different areas of florida. let me leave you now with some uplifting pictures if you like tomatoes, or even if you don't. the world's largest tomato fight is back!

these are images from la tomatina festival, which hasjust taken place in bunol, spain — a small town near valencia. it involves up to 20,000 revelers who get stuck into competitive tomato throwing and really paint the town red. some of them have clothes on, some don't, you can't really tell. i only think tomatoes should be used in a pizza or a pasta sauce are not wasted in this way. but anyway, we leave you with this tradition in spain and we will be back with a business news in a few minutes with ben thompson. don't go anywhere. it's a day of sunny spells and scattered cumulus clouds with a few showers. overall, nota bad scattered cumulus clouds with a few showers. overall, not a bad day and for many of us, skies like this, so a fine day. however, tomorrow we are expecting some thicker cloud and rain in one or two places. here is

the forecast for the rest of the day. you can seejust the forecast for the rest of the day. you can see just a scattering of showers here and there. these are the temperatures at the end of the afternoon. they are just a fraction below the average. tonight, we have the super blue moon on the way. why is it super blue moon? super because it is close to the earth, and it will appear large, and it's a blue moon because it's the second full moon because it's the second full moon of the month, which happens once in a blue moon. so we want some clear weather tonight. it will not be completely clear, there was a weather front approaching on the satellite picture. we arejust weather front approaching on the satellite picture. we are just ahead of this weather system, and there is enough of a weather window to catch that super blue moon. let's look at the forecast for this evening. here is that weatherfront approaching ireland. at this stage, you can see the super blue moon across central and eastern areas, but by the early hours of the morning, it turns wet across south—western parts of the uk. there will be a nip in the air

first thing on thursday. lots of sunshine across northern and eastern areas, but towards the west, we have thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain for a time across southern areas. some of this rain could be heavy and thundery, and it will be a cool day were disappointing. a bit warmer in northern scotland, because we have more sunshine. it will take time for the rain to clear away, still hugging the south coast of england on thursday. eventually, it pulls away towards the east and then we are left with sunny spells and a scattering of showers. temperatures around the high teens or 20 degrees. by around the high teens or 20 degrees. by the weekend, the jet stream loops around the uk through scandinavia and back towards the south, and in the middle we have an area of high pressure building. that bodes well for the weekend. at the end of the week, a little unsettled with a few showers. then saturday, sunday, monday and tuesday, the weather is looking not bad at all.

a whopper of a row — fast food giant burger king faces a lawsuit claiming it makes its burgers larger than life. we'll speak to the uk's advertising watchdog. and germany approves a 32 billion euro tax package aimed at reviving growth in europe's faltering economic giant. welcome to world business report. i'm ben thomson. plenty of burger puns today! a bun—fight going on in the us — burger king is facing a lawsuit that alleges it makes its whopper burger appear larger in its ads than it is in reality. does it ever looked like that? that is the question. the class action law suit claims the fast food giant cheated customers by showing burgers that "overflow over the bun" — making them appear 35% larger on its in—store menus. burger king told the bbc that "the claims are false". but rivals mcdonald's and wendy's are facing similar cases in the us. donna castle is director of communications at the advertising standards authority, the body that regulates

advertising across all media.