welcome to newsday. i'm katie silver. more than a million people are without power after russia's strikes on ukraine's power grid on wednesday night. russian forces launched 90 missiles and 100 drones in an attack that lasted for more than nine hours, according to kyiv�*s military administration. ukrainian emergency workers are servicing at least 1a affected regions, including kyiv, odesa, kharkiv, and sumy. authorities say people could be without electricity for days. the attack is a massive blow to ukraine's energy system, which is crucial to both front line troops and civilians as winter approaches. during a visit to kazakhstan on thursday, russian president vladimir putin said the strikes were in response to ukraine using american and british long range missiles to hit targets

in russia. he warned that should ukraine retaliate further, russia will use its new ballistic missile to hit ukrainian sites including what he described as "decision—making centres" in kyiv. translation: we will use the means at our disposal against significant targets. we did not exclude the use of oreshnik against the military, military industries facilities over decision—making central including kyiv stop betting in mind that the kyiv authorities continue to attempt to strike at our vital facilities including st petersburg and moscow. ukrainian officials called mr putin's claim "ridiculous". president volodymyr zelensky said russia used cruise missiles with cluster munitions to specifically target energy and civilian infastructure.

despite the wide range of russia's overnight attack, reports suggest no—one was killed. inna sovsun is a ukrainian member of parliament. she described the situation after the attack. i'm sitting out of my home right now, i don't have electricity right now, i didn't have it from the early morning and i came back home in the evening and i didn't have electricity. unfortunately, that is the situation for the majority of the ukrainians right now. unfortunately, this night's attacks had a drastic effect on the energy system and unfortunately, there are people who didn't have a single hour of electricity supply to the houses. the attack took place to a very big extent on the west of the country, but unfortunately, it's a unified energy system, so it means that there are outages all over the countrym so it's not specific cities, they hit the system itself, so,

unfortunately, all over the country, basically, is under very strict limits as to how much electricity is in the system and thus the majority of the people don't have electricity in their homes. professor paul dibb — from the strategic and defence studies centre at the australia national university is a former top australian defence and intelligence official. he told me more about how ukraine is handling the situation. what we are facing is two things. right now, the military outlook for ukraine, in my view, is grim, and secondly how much longer ukraine can keep going on is uncertain. don't get me wrong, i'm not criticising them, they have done extremely well, but the answer is it is barbaric, the situation that the people have been put into, as rightly as

you say, in winter, and their serious winter is on its way. the second thing is putin is not going to give up. the question in my mind, are these increased deliveries of weapons which putin says in reaction to a non—nuclear country called ukraine, being given missiles by a nuclear country called the united states, and he has reserved the right to make a judgment about whether this will be a conflict with nato, led by the united states. now there is a lot of speculation and he uses this maliciously about the potential use of nuclear weapons. about the potential use of nuclearweapons. it about the potential use of nuclear weapons. it is true that russia has 2000 tactical nuclear weapons, and as you said, it has intermediate range

up said, it has intermediate range up to 5000 kilometres, which means the whole of europe but not america is in range. question: when will he use nuclear weapons, question: when will he use nuclearweapons, if question: when will he use nuclear weapons, if he does, and ac looking at the upcoming president trump mark two, which putin believes i think that trump from putin's point of view is going to be a soft touch that he manipulate. two bulgarian men have pleaded guilty to spying for russia in the uk. 0rleen ruseff from great yarmouth and bees—air their guilty pleas can be reported for the first time after a jury at the old bailey were told about them at the start of a trial of three other alleged spies.

daniel de simone reports. a russian spy cell operating in the uk. the guilty pleas of these two bulgarian men, 0rlin roussev and biser dzhambazov, can be reported for the first time today. denying the same charge, three other bulgarians — vanya gaberova, katrin ivanova and tihomir ivanchev. prosecutor alison morgan kc said the defendants had engaged in high level espionage, put lives at risk, and sought to gather information for russia, an enemy of the uk. jurors heard the group was directed by 0rlin roussev, who took instructions from a russian agent abroad, with people and places then targeted for surveillance. this great yarmouth guest house occupied by roussev was packed with technical equipment, the court heard, including gadgets used to steal data from phones. the female defendants were envisaged as a honey trap, jurors were told. sexual bait for their targets. both women were in

relationships with biser dzhambazov, the other man who has admitted being a spy. when police raided katrin ivanova's london flat, they found a range of false passports under fake identities. investigative journalist christo grozev was one alleged target. his work exposed russia's role in the salisbury nerve agent attack. the court heard the alleged spy cells leaders and the russian agent who directed him from abroad had discussed potentially kidnapping christo grozev and taking him to moscow, or even killing him. the three defendants are alleged to have followed people throughout europe, and targeted a us military base in germany. they deny all the charges. daniel de simone, bbc news, at the old bailey. riot police in the capital of georgia, tblisi, have used

pepper spray and water cannon against protesters where a tense stand—off is continuing demonstrators have taken to the streets after the government suspended moves tojoin the european union. they have been setting up burning barricades. and it's notjust the capital. demonstrations erupted in several cities after prime minister irack—li kohbak—hidzer announced he would not pursue eu membership until 2028. this was in response to a european parliament resolution which rejected the results of last month's election, citing irregularities. brussels had already suspended the membership process because of what it calls democratic backsliding by the ruling georgian dream party. the ceasefire in lebanon appears to be largely holding for a second day, although authorities there say israel committed several violations. israel has again imposed a curfew for southern lebanon.

earlier it fired at border settlements, in what was seen as a warning for people not to return to their homes. 0ur security corrrespondent frank gardner is injerusalem well, it's only day two of a 60—day ceasefire, and so far, it is largely holding up. neither side is looking to back out. but it would be an exaggeration to say that this has been a perfect ceasefire so far. it hasn't, because the israeli military, their tanks have fired several rounds towards lebanese villages and towns in the south of lebanon — they say, to warn off villagers who were coming back too soon. israel has imposed a curfew, an overnight curfew, on the area of southern lebanon between the litani river and the israel border. and they don't want to see any movement in that space during that time. remember that this is still very early days and it's a phased withdrawal. hezbollah are due to move north of the litani river.

israeli forces are supposed to move south of the border. now, the lebanese army has accused israel of "multiple "violations", in their words. israel says that its warplanes struck a hezbollah weapons dump containing medium range rockets. but so far — at least in theory — it is holding. no—one is talking about pulling out of the deal, because the penalty for that would just be so big. nobody wants to see a resumption of these massive air strikes on beirut and baalbek and southern lebanon. they want this deal to work, to hold. of course, none of this resolves what's going on in gaza, and really, that is where the push is now, because the humanitarian situation there is atrocious, it's really dire. winter has set in. there's poor conditions pretty much up and down the gaza strip, with massive displacement of people, and there doesn't appear to be a plan in place for how israel is going to hand it over, if at all, to any kind

of civilian authority — preferably a palestinian authority, the americans say. but there doesn't seem to be any sign of that. there isn't even a sign of a ceasefire at the moment, although a lot of people are talking about it. that is the situation across the region at the moment. in the uk, members of parliament will make possibly the most momentous decision of their political lives on friday when they vote on a bill which would allow assisted dying in england and wales. under the proposals, terminally—ill adults, expected to die within six months, would be able to seek help to die if two doctors and a high courtjudge approve. our medical editor, fergus walsh, has been speaking to people on both sides of the debate. mark blackwell from south london has round the clock care from eppie, his wife of 45 years. you can put your hand up and tell me you're ready for the next mouthful. he has advanced parkinson's and suffered a major stroke

seven years ago. the couple both oppose assisted dying. when we got married, we made a vow of for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, and love is unconditional. otherwise, it isn't real love. and i feel very much that that's how i would like to show my love to mark, and to take care of him till the natural end of his life. the couple have seven children. their stance on assisted dying is partly due to their catholic faith, and their experience as medical professionals, working with psychiatric patients, some of whom took their own lives. i think suicide is tragic and destructive, and whether you legalise it or not doesn't take that away, and we want a compassionate society. mark is no longer able to talk, but can still make his views clear. mark, if assisted dying was legalised, would that make you feel a burden and

and a pressure to die? if the answer is yes, close your eyes. well, that's very clear. yeah, that's very clear. yeah. and then see if you can find anything that's in date in the fridge. i know that's going to be the difficulty though, - isn't it? jan butterworth, from warwickshire, has advanced endometrial cancer, and has been told she has less than six months to live. she wants the option of an assisted death, after witnessing how her husband died, nearly 30 years ago, of liver cancer. he died literally three weeks after he was diagnosed, - having gone to see the gp, and it was a very difficult - and a very distressing death. jan hasjoined dignitas, but would rather die at home with her daughter and son by her side.

she knows even if the law changes here, it will come too late for her. it leaves me with a very poor set of options. - essentially, i'm left - with switzerland, suicide or suffering — _ the potential for suffering. it's a gamble. and to my mind, and for me, j death shouldn't be a gamble. we should make it right for people. . give them the opportunityj to have a smooth passing, a comfortable death. fergus walsh, our medical editor reporting. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines.

let's take a look at another major story in the uk. it's the first new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years and researchers are describing it as a "game—changer". the study suggests that offering patients an injection is more effective than the current steroid tablets. 0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinson has more. the results, published in the journal, found a failure rate of 74% when taking the current treatment of steroids, but that dropped to 45% with a new therapy, benralizumab, reducing hospital admissions and fatalities. home treatment is only a possibility for the future at the moment, but those behind the trial believe they had a real breakthrough, researchers say next year, a larger trouble began aimed at confirming their success of this treatment. plenty more on that new treatment on our website. bbc.com/news. you're live with bbc news.

australia will become the first country in the world to ban social media for under—16s. it is one of the toughest crackdowns on the likes of tiktok, instagram and facebook. of tiktok, instagram and facebook. the new law forces the new law forces tech giants to stop minors tech giants to stop minors logging on to their logging on to their platforms, orface fines platforms, orface fines of up to $19.5 of up to $19.5 million australian, million australian, that is about $32 million us — that is about $32 million us — if they don't comply. if they don't comply. the ban will not take effect the ban will not take effect for at least a year. for at least a year. australia's prime minister australia's prime minister anthony albanese says the legislation is needed anthony albanese says the legislation is needed to protect young people to protect young people from harm and encourage from harm and encourage them to be more active. them to be more active. 0ur sydney correspondent phil 0ur sydney correspondent phil mercer explains more mercer explains more about the law. about the law. there has been an enormous there has been an enormous amount of division, not only in amount of division, not only in

australian politics, but in australian politics, but in australian politics, but in australian politics, but in australian society as well. australian society as well. two major questions

he would appear to have he would appear to have majority public support, about majority public support, about 60 to 70% public support, 60 to 70% public support, judging by opinion polls, and i judging by opinion polls, and i think it responds to what is a think it responds to what is a very strong perception of the very strong perception of the failure of self—regulation in failure of self—regulation in australia, that rightly or australia, that rightly or wrongly, there is a view that wrongly, there is a view that social media platforms have had social media platforms have had two decades to sort out age two decades to sort out age verification issues and it verification issues and it manifestly failed to do so, and manifestly failed to do so, and this legislation gives a very this legislation gives a very strong nudge to those platforms strong nudge to those platforms to put in much more robust age to put in much more robust age verification measures or to verification measures or to develop platform models that develop platform models that are designed for young people. are designed for young people. is it practical? are these is it practical? are these social media giant is going to social media giant is going to be able to introduce legislation like this, or how can it be achieved?- legislation like this, or how can it be achieved? well, there

will be a lot _ can it be achieved? well, there will be a lot of _ can it be achieved? well, there will be a lot of devil— can it be achieved? well, there will be a lot of devil in - can it be achieved? well, there will be a lot of devil in the - will be a lot of devil in the detail, no

offender when it are they a big offender when it comes to young people using them? fix. comes to young people using them? �* ., ., comes to young people using them? ., ., , , them? a lot of young people use aaamin them? a lot of young people use gaming platforms _ them? a lot of young people use gaming platforms and _ them? a lot of young people use gaming platforms and i - them? a lot of young people use gaming platforms and i think- gaming platforms and i think there are some questions you raise hear about social media, what constitutes social media. 0ne platform that was removed from the legislation was in fact youtube, and this is apparently on the basis of lobbying from the away goals, who i'm sure some of your viewers are familiar with, but it has been coming for about a year. there was major social media summits held in australia in august, and also the testimony of people such as facebook whistle—blower francis haugen were quite influential in australia, and i do note there are otherjurisdictions considering measures along these lines, including italy, spain, france, south korea, the czech republic, germany and ireland. the uk transport secretary louise haigh has admitted pleading guilty to a criminal offence relating to a police investigation over a mobile phone she had claimed

was stolen. in a statement, ms haigh said she told police she had lost her phone during a mugging on a night out in 2013 but laterfound it had not been taken. 0ur correspondent sean dilly has the latest. louise haigh, the transport secretary, has admitted, when she was asked about the 2014 conviction, the circumstances that she said were that she, in 2013, she had been out on the street, she had been mugged, items were missing, she said she reported all of those items to the police, including her work phone that she said she thought had been taking. her account is that time passed, she found her work phone had not been stolen when he was turned on, this attracted attention. police had invited her in for what they call in the united kingdom an interview under caution,

so a little bit like miranda rights, where they come in and they read her her rights, and after that, that when two prosecutors who charged her, she appeared in a london magistrates court and upon legal advice, she said she pleaded guilty, but it's not totally clear precisely to what offence she pleaded guilty with. we asked for those details and now, the narrative terms and the political set of transportation, she has been quite a highflyer in her early career as the new transport secretary under the new labor government since they recently elected, but can she survive potentially being convicted of a potentially serious offence? we are looking into those details and will bring them to you throughout the night, and for the moment, louise haigh does say that she appeared before the magistrate's court and they accepted her mitigation that she received as a conditional discharge where the court finds her guilty of whatever the offence was but doesn't

impose a punishment. one of china's most powerful military officials has been suspended and is under investigation for "serious violations of discipline", becoming the latest senior officer to be caught up in a sweeping anti—corruption crackdown.admiral miao hua who head of the powerful crackdown. admiral miao hua who head of the powerful political work department of its central military commission since 2017. at least four people were killed and ten others injured in thailand, after a crane collapsed in samut sakhon province. the incident happened at a construction site early on friday morning. authorities have advised motorists to avoid the area due to heavy traffic following the accident. the family of veteran chinese state media journalist, dong yuyu, say he has been sentenced to seven years in prison for espionage. dong, 62, was detained by police in beijing in 2022, while having lunch with a japanese diplomat. he was a seniorjournalist at the communist party—affiliated guangming daily newspaper.

keepers at a zoo in england have helped teach a baby penguin how to walk. flop's mum died when she was just a few days old, and she lost the strength to hold herself up. but handlers got her back on her feet — with the help of a penguin, called flap. ben sidwell has the story. it's been a tough start to life for flop, the penguin. after her mother died when flop was just a couple of weeks old, she became really ill, leaving her unable to stand, walk or even eat. with the threat of having to put her to sleep, over three months, the team of bird keepers at dudley zoo worked day and night in an attempt to save flop's life. for her to be unable to keep herself, her body supported, it definitely could have been life—threatening. so they started to think outside the box and tried anything and everything to help. we actually developed a little baby bouncer that would support her body weight, with her feet just touching the floor, and we was able

to feed her in this. while desperately searching the internet, they discovered another penguin, called flap, from toronto zoo in canada, who had exactly the same condition. we spread it around the whole zoo. we were so happy that flap was able to, you know, reach out and help another penguin in need. happily, all the keepers' efforts worked and flop is now back on her feet and looking forward to living her best penguin life. ben sidwell, bbc news. that's all for now. stay with bbc news. hello. thursday was a decidedly chilly day. in fact, that's something of an understatement in those parts of scotland that didn't get above freezing. but a different feel to the weather kicking in for the day ahead. these southerly winds bringing something milder. a frontal system bringing outbreaks of rain across northern and western parts. further east, closest to the centre of this area

of high pressure, it should stay largely dry. so a bit of rain in the forecast, some sunny spells as well, but breezy, and with that breeze coming from the south, it will be milder. so here's how things look — outbreaks of rain, on and off, through the day across the north of scotland. a frontal system bringing rain into northern ireland, western scotland, parts of west wales, the south west of england, but to the east of that, a lot of dry weather, some spells of, albeit fairly hazy, sunshine. it is going to be breezy, particularly windy out towards the west, but with those winds coming from the south, a little bit milder than it has been. the highest temperatures in those western parts, 12 degrees for stornoway, 13 degrees there for plymouth, a little bit chillierfurther east, and then our frontal system moves its way eastwards during friday nights. it will weaken as it goes. it will leave quite a lot of cloud behind as we start saturday morning, but it is going to be a mild start to the weekend. a rather cloudy start for many,

and i think we can expect quite a lot of cloud through the day on saturday. that cloud breaking from time to time, particularly to the east of high ground. equally, that cloud may produce just a few showers at times across parts of northern ireland and parts of scotland, as well. temperature—wise on saturday, we're looking at values of 13, 1a, 15 degrees, so very mild indeed. certainly those temperatures above the average for the time of year. as we head through saturday night and into sunday, we see this next frontal system pushing eastwards. that will bring some outbreaks of rain. ahead of that weather front, we've still got the southerly winds, so it's still going to be pretty mild. behind the weather front, well, something brighter, sunny spells and showers. we do start to see a northerly wind kicking in. that may just start to bring something a little bit colder into the north west, but for the majority, a very mild day again on sunday for the first day of december. but it does look like things will turn a little bit colder for a time during the first half of next week.

delegates from around the world are in busan to negotiate a treaty aimed at tackling plastic pollution. plus, with black friday sales under way, we take a look at what consumers are spending on this holiday season. hello and welcome to business today. i'm katie silver.

we begin in south korea, where delegates from 175 countries have gathered to negotiate a global treaty to curb plastic pollution. the key agenda — putting a cap on plastic production. but it's a measure that has faced strong opposition from petrochemical—producing countries like saudi arabia and china. as a result, negotiations have stalled in the previous rounds that first began in 2022. the summit in busan, scheduled to wrap up on saturday, is meant to be the last round of discussions. environmental journalist robin hicks gave us his thoughts on this summit. it's been slow. there's been opposition to plastic production cuts, caps from — rather — from the big petrostates such as saudi arabia. there's also been disagreement over who will finance the treaty. developing countries are pushing for developed countries, whose multinationals, whose companies

created a lot of this pollution to pay, to foot the bill,