wicked or eh m wicked or do the have wickedness thrust do they have wickedness thrust on them? hollywood blockbuster wicked premieres in london. we look ahead to the launch. hello, thank you forjoining us. i'm catherine vieira hunger. —— and catherine byaruhanga. the kremlin has reacted to the united states allowing ukraine to use long—range missiles to strike targets in russia, accusing president biden of fuelling tensions. it's also warning the move could escalate the conflict. the decision by the outgoing us president is a major policy shift. it means ukraine can now use army tactical missile systems, known as atacms, to defend its forces in russia's kursk region, on ukraine's north—east border. russian president vladimir putin previously

warned the west that he would consider such a move to be a major escalation in the conflict. our north america correspondent david willis has this report. the aftermath of the latest missile attack on ukraine, russia's largest in months. this, the city of sumy, near the russian border, after a missile hit a residential area, killing ten people and injuring many more. as president biden arrived in rio for the 620 summit, reports emerged of new us measures to help ukraine defend itself. authorisation from the outgoing leader for the use of long—range, american—made guided missiles capable of striking deep into russian territory. potentially a significant development in the conflict, and one president zelensky has been calling for, for months. translation: today, many in the media say that we have received permission to take appropriate actions. but strikes are not made with words, such things are not announced.

the missiles will speak for themselves, definitely. president biden's decision followed the arrival last month of around 10,000 north korean specialforces, sent to help russia reclaim territory lost to ukraine in the kursk region of eastern russia. known as atacms, these us army tactical missile systems have a range of almost 200 miles and are difficult to intercept because they travel at such high speeds. president biden is keen to do all he can to help ukraine in the little time he has left in office. he'd resisted authorising the use of american long range missiles up to now for fear of antagonising russia. but with winter approaching, and russia advancing, retaining territory taken in the east could provide ukraine with a bargaining chip in the event of future peace talks. david willis, bbc news, washington.

0ur diplomatic correspondent paul adams has the latest on what the missiles might be used for. he is in ukraine. what we don't know are the specifics of this. we understand that this will be used initially in aid of ukrainian forces who are currently operating inside russia, in the area of russian territory in kursk that they've been holding since august. that is important for them because they are anticipating a russian counteroffensive in kursk, assisted by as many as 10,000 north korean troops any day now. and so the arrival or the ability to use the atacm missiles to complicate russia's planning will be important to the ukrainians. whether they are granted the permission to use it more widely in the future, well, we'll have to see. we don't know how many of these systems they have, and we also don't know exactly what the americans are saying in terms

of what they can and can't do with them. it is also possible that britain and france may follow washington's lead and grant permission for ukraine to use the storm shadow missile, also to hit targets deep inside russia. none of these things, in and of themselves, can be regarded as game—changers. they're not necessarily going to change the course of the war in any emphatic way. but i think ukrainian officials believe that it is a necessary step, and one that will somewhat redress the balance of military might at a time when they really feel they're on the receiving end of a slow, grinding russian advance in the east, and a feeling that ukraine for the last several months has really been on the back foot. that was paul adams. with me is bbc monitoring's russia editor, vitaly shevchenko.

you are also the host of the bbc�*s you are also the host of the bbc�*s ukrainecast pod cast and this strikes me as a bitter sweet moment because they have been asking to be able to use these weapons for such a long time. ., ., ~' these weapons for such a long time. ., ., 4' . these weapons for such a long time. ., ., , these weapons for such a long time. ., ., time. looking at reactions from ukraine, some _ time. looking at reactions from ukraine, some people - time. looking at reactions from ukraine, some people are - ukraine, some people are saying, finally, thank you, but frankly it could be a too little, too late. we have seen these red lines since the beginning of the conflict, real or imaginary, which have prevented ukraine's western allies of providing more sophisticated weaponry in fear of provoking an escalation and we had things like battle tanks or f—16 fighter we had things like battle tanks or f—16fighterjets that ukraine was asking for and were initially told, no, you can't

have that because of escalation. the same happens with long—range missiles and it now turns out that apparently, reportedly, it is possible to use them. indications are that they are likely to be confined to russia's kursk region but it won't really help ukraine in the east or will be of relatively little help for ukraine in eastern parts of the country like the donbas where russia has been making slow but steady progress and just this morning, the russian military claiming they captured another village in the donetsk region, so it is a dark and cold winter in ukraine that we are likely to see for a variety of regions. to see for a variety of regim— to see for a variety of reuions. ~ ., i. ., ~ to see for a variety of reuions. ~ ., ., ~ ., regions. what you make of the timin: regions. what you make of the timing and _ regions. what you make of the timing and the _ regions. what you make of the timing and the argument - regions. what you make of the timing and the argument that. timing and the argument that perhaps this is about shoring up perhaps this is about shoring up ukraine's position should president elect donald trump want ukraine to negotiate with russia? ., ., ., , , russia? you are absolutely riaht russia? you are absolutely right that _ russia? you are absolutely right that the _ russia? you are absolutely right that the timing - russia? you are absolutely right that the timing is - right that the timing is interesting and there are

different reasons being discussed by commentators as to why they may have given this permission and one of these reasons is that presidentjoe biden only has two months left in office so the pressure is not as heavy on him because of that. also, the permission comes after the deployment of north korean forces to the kursk region so this could be a message to north korea, your involvement will come at a heavy price, stay out. it also comes after a massive missile attack that ukraine saw a couple of days ago, so this could be seen as a response to that. and also it could be part of the democrats or the western coalition helping ukraine, helping ukraine before donald trump assumes office in january. trump assumes office in january-— trump assumes office in janua . ., ., january. you mentioned there the massive — january. you mentioned there the massive russian - january. you mentioned there the massive russian air - january. you mentioned there |

the massive russian air strikes on ukraine in the last few days and we are also now hearing that a russian missile attack has killed eight people and injured 18 in the 0desa region, according to the governor there. just give us a sense of what is happening now in the winter months in terms of russia's attacks on ukraine. it looks like they are intensifying, both involving shahid drones, other types of drones and missiles and yesterday we had 11 people killed in northern ukraine, in sumy, just across the border and this attack has happened in 0desa, and the power cuts are back and i am hearing people are experiencing blackouts again so ukrainian infrastructure has been targeted yet again as winter approaches. that reinforces the feeling of tiredness in ukraine. there have been reports of various opinion polls suggesting that ukrainians are moving towards

an acceptance of having to sit down and negotiate with russia and of course the big question is how reliable a negotiating partner russia is and whether it will stick to any agreements reached, but it is true that these daily and nightly attacks that kill a lot of people, they are really tiring and when it is dark and cold, it has an impact ona is dark and cold, it has an impact on a lot of things, the economy, the government's ability to govern and the people's ability to resist. thank you so much, vitaly shevchenko, for bringing us your analysis there. that is bitterly shevchenko —— vitaly shevchenko, co—host of the bbc�*s shevchenko, co—host of the bbc�*s ukrainecast pod cast. french farmers have resumed their tractor protest against a trade agreement between the european union

and latin american countries. the procession is moving slowly towards paris, to put pressure on the government to not sign the deal. the farmers say the deal could lead to a massive influx of south american foodstuffs, which they say would destabilise their domestic markets. president macron has already said he would not approve the agreement in its current form. an international manhunt is under way for the husband of a woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car in east london. the remains of 24—year—old harshita brella were discovered on thursday. police say they're looking for pankaj lamba, who they believe has left the uk. 0ur correspondent aruna ayengar has this update on the manhunt from east london. yes, the body of 24—year—old harshita brella was found here in ilford, just outside this park, valentine's park. ilford is in the east of london. now, police say harshita was actually killed 90 miles away, near her home in corby in northamptonshire, and her body was driven down here and left here in the boot of a car. police say they've

named a suspect. they say the suspect that they have in mind is her husband, who's named as pankaj lamba. they believe that he's fled the country. 60 policemen are on the lookout now for this person. they've launched a massive manhunt, an international manhunt to try and find him, and released images of him. they want people to contact them if they've seen any sightings of him. harshita brella was the victim of domestic violence. back in september, northampton magistrates issued a domestic violence protection order to protect her against someone who was trying to attack her. the order meant that the person was not allowed to contact her at work or to intimidate her in any way. the police are also saying that they've referred themselves to the independent office for police conduct, because harshita had been in touch with them before she was murdered. and that's normal procedure if a victim has been in touch with the police, and then subsequently

something happens to them. police say that they are devastated by this murder. they say that this was a very young woman in her 20s, with the whole of her life ahead of her, and so much to look forward to. they say this is a complete tragedy and say that they have sent condolences to the family of harshita. lets bring you some breaking news. two officers with the metropolitan police in london have each been charged with four counts of sexual assault on a woman. police constablesjerome beasley and luke robinson allegedly sexually assaulted the woman while off—duty at a venue in west london in april. both officers are currently suspended from duty and are scheduled to appear at westminster magistrates' court on wednesday. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

the uk prime minister, sir keir starmer, has pledged that ukraine will be top of his agenda at this week's g20 summit of world leaders in rio de janeiro. he's urged other nations to step up their support for ukraine or face "unfathomable consequences". sir keir starmer is due to meet with the chinese leader xi jinping on the sidelines of the summit on monday. it will mark the first time in more than six years that a british prime minister has met president xi. 0ur south america correspondent, ione wells, is in rio. we arejust seeing we are just seeing some of the leaders arriving there for the summit so give it as a sense of what it is like there at the moment. what it is like there at the moment-— what it is like there at the moment. . , .,

moment. that is right, world leaders are _ moment. that is right, world leaders are starting - moment. that is right, world leaders are starting to - moment. that is right, world leaders are starting to arrive| leaders are starting to arrive here in rio dejaneiro for these two days of discussions and there is a lot on the agenda. there are issues are said to be discussed in some of the formal meetings around global poverty, climate change, but of course what you've mentioned is there around the us�* mentioned is there around the us' decision to allow long—range missiles to be fired from ukraine into russia is one of the topics really dominating discussions here in rio de janeiro, that and as you have mentioned, the prime minister keir starmer�*s meeting today with president xijinping of china. from his perspective, this is an attempt to create a better working relationship with china, something the government have been trying to do for a while and we have seen foreign secretary david lammy and his predecessor visit beijing in attempts to improve relations in relation to things like the economy but there are

difficult issues that will likely be discussed ranging from criticisms from the uk of the human rights record in china and also the conflict in ukraine, which given that it is going to be discussed heavily in the summit, is also likely to come up. in the summit, is also likely to come un— in the summit, is also likely to come up. and we have seen lots of divisions _ to come up. and we have seen lots of divisions in _ to come up. and we have seen lots of divisions in previous - lots of divisions in previous 620 lots of divisions in previous g20 summits, particularly in relation to the conflict in ukraine, so are our things are shaping up in terms of the concrete agreements that could be reached in rio dejaneiro? —— so how are things shaping up. -- so how are things shaping u . _ , , -- so how are things shaping u, , , ., -- so how are things shaping u . _ , , ., ., ., up. this is a gathering of the 20 largest — up. this is a gathering of the 20 largest economies - up. this is a gathering of the 20 largest economies in - up. this is a gathering of the 20 largest economies in the | 20 largest economies in the world and yet there is not a consensus about the war in ukraine, not least because russia is one of the members of the 620 russia is one of the members of the g20 and president putin won't be here in rio but he has sent sergei love rob in his place and that is partly because of an arrest warrant on

vladimir putin birds when this has come up in previous summits, russia clearly in disagreement with some of the western nations on this particular topic in terms of allowing weapons to be used and providing weapons but also financial support. providing weapons but also financialsupport. —— providing weapons but also financial support. —— sergei lavrov. but nations such as brazil have tried to play a more neutral role in the conflict, criticising some of russia's actions but not wanting to be seen as taking side so i think there is very much a split opinion among many of the countries here at the 620. ., ~ of the countries here at the g20. ., ~ , c, of the countries here at the g20. ., ~ _, a, c, of the countries here at the g20. ., a, a, . , g20. thank you, and lone wells will be there _ g20. thank you, and lone wells will be there at _ g20. thank you, and lone wells will be there at the _ g20. thank you, and lone wells will be there at the g20 - will be there at the g20 conference four hours along with other correspondence. —— for us along with. authorities in india have announced further restrictions for construction activities and vehicle movements in the capital, delhi, to combat worsening air

quality, which has now been categorised as "severe plus". a blanket of toxic smog has covered the city of 30 million people for the past week. pakistan is also facing problems with smog which has spread to the pakistani city of lahore. schools, universities, and parks have been closed, and a lockdown planned in an attempt to try to limit damage. so, what is life like inside the city? 0ur pakistan correspondent, caroline davies, has this report. lahore was known as the city of gardens. now you can hardly see the green through the grey. in the last two weeks, air quality has hit unprecedented toxic levels. some cannot escape it. translation: we are compelled to go out i because we have children. if we stay home, what will we do? we have to earn our livelihood. there is no other option. not everyone is a job holder. we are labourers. we need to earn

to be able to eat. respiratory problems, eye infections, coughs, asthma — this ward estimates they've seen up to 25% more patients. and winter is almost here. in coming one or two weeks, there will be the cold wave that will hit lahore and major cities of pakistan. so cold waves along with the smoke is a lethal weapon. and i am expecting there will be a significant surge in the respiratory diseases. lahore's markets are far from empty, but some have no choice but to stay inside. irum has three children, two with special needs. cough is not going. everyone in our home is having cough. and these two kids are more affected with smoke as compared to the other people in the home. the kids with special needs have low immunity. very good. three, two, one. schools are closed,

so are the parks. they are greatly disturbed by all this haphazardness because they don't have anything to do. it is very difficult to survive in this environment. and we are thinking that it is high time to shift somewhere, because every day we are affected by it. pakistan sees smog most years. the provincial government insists it was trying to control it, but hadn't prepared for this level. air quality index is beyond our control and i must admit that it is actually a surprise for us. we were not ready to, you know, face such kind of surge in aol whole of the government is actually working towards mitigation of smog. we know that this is a long battle. change requires money and political will. if pollution outpaces pakistan's efforts, lahore, and the millions who live here, may stay trapped in these toxic clouds.

caroline davis, bbc news. the highly—anticipated new film wicked is due to hit uk cinema screens next week, having just premiered in new york, and is about to be screened for the first time in london. fans of the hugely successful theatre musical have had to wait three years since the adaptation was first announced. the story is based on a novel by author gregory maguire and tells the backstory of elphaba, who goes on to become the wicked witch of the west in the wizard of oz. anna smith is a film critic and host of the girls on film podcast. she says she expects the film to be a success thanks to the huge fanbase of the musical. i'm imagining that a lot of people that have seen the musical have already booked their tickets, they're very excited about it. and i can also see this being like barbie, in the sense that people want to go along with their friends,

they might even dress up. of course, you have a lot of nostalgia for both the film and the musical at the same time. it's a pg film that can appeal to a lot of ages and, judging by the trailer, there is also a huge sense of spectacle. it looks like something you would want to see on the big screen. of course, it's important to say that no—one in the uk has seen the film, of course. it has not premiered here. i wanted to ask you what you think the successes of the film might be, especially the music. ariana grande, an international pop star, starring in the film as well as cynthia erivo, a great musician. might that be the key to success for the film? absolutely. this film will not work without the right casting and i am very hopeful about it. they both have incredible voices and good acting skills and a lot of chemistry and charisma. i think that is a huge part of it. but you also have to have all the craft in place, the costumes, production design, the visual effects

in place, and it seems they have worked very hard on that and got people at the top of their game and have tried to work on creating a whole world to immerse audiences in. interestingly, the film is being split into two halves. just tell us, how does that work, and could it be a negative for some fans? it's an interesting one. there will be one out on friday and another one a year later. we don't know exactly how they're going to split it, but i imagine they would work like where you have the interval in the stage show. in that case, i'm quite hopeful that at least you would have a satisfying story and something that stands alone. where it can work against a film if it's split in two halves is if it's either a cliffhanger or something where you don't feel a sense of satisfaction. i'm hoping that with this, they've done it to get to grips more with the characters and use most, if not all of the songs. so i think if they do justice to the musical and bring out

the emotion of the story, it'll work. that was the film critic anna smith. before we go, let's take you back to rio dejaneiro where the g20 you back to rio dejaneiro where the 620 summit is under way and over the past half an hour or so, we have seen leaders coming up the ramp there and greeting the country's president, lula da silva. we are expecting leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies to meet there in rio dejaneiro and as we have discussed on the programme so far, a key focus for discussions, perhaps on the sidelines, will be the conflict in ukraine and the united states' decision to allow ukraine to use long—range missiles inside russia for the first time. russia missiles