It's fu him to end this but today was about having the chance to not talk about a tactic but a strategy in relation to ukraine. Russia's president vladimir putin says lifting these restrictions would represent the nato alliance�*s direct participation in the ukraine war. We heard the same argument from russia's representative at the un. Translation: if the decision to lift restrictions is really taken, from that moment, nato countries are conducting direct war with russia. In this case, we will have to take the relevant decisions with all the consequences for this that the western aggressors were phase. Ukraine very much wants to be able to use these weapons. Our security correspondent gordon corera explains why. These are the western weapons at the heart of today's debate. They include american atacms and this, the british storm shadow system, which has a range of at least 250 kilometres. Storm shadow has already been used by ukraine against a russian base in occupied crimea last year, but up until now the countries supplying these weapons have told ukraine it can't fire them into russia, but there's been pressure for that to change. The reason is that russia has been making advances on the front line inside ukraine. It's been hitting ukrainian positions using glide bombs, and its forces have been supported from over the border, inside russia. What ukraine wants to be able to do is use the longer range of the western missiles to strike deeper into russia, targeting the command centres and ammunition depots supporting moscow's advance. So, what are the risks? vladimir putin says ukraine using these weapons inside russia would be an escalation, claiming they require western assistance and meaning nato countries would be directly involved in the war. But russia has set out red lines, like the supply of fighterjets in the past, which have been crossed without leading to a wider war between nato and russia. Russia could still respond in other ways though, maybe upping its existing campaign of sabotage with arson attacks, or perhaps through cyber attacks. These missiles though are not likely to be a game changer, but they could help lift some of the military pressure on ukraine and signal continued western support, and that means those backing their use believe it's worth the risk of antagonising moscow. One person whose position on this issue is clear is former british prime minister borisjohnson. He's been in kyiv meeting president zelensky and says ukraine should be allowed to use these weapons. He's been kyiv meetng president zelensky, but that is not the west's postion. And mr zelensky commented on this on social media — writing: at least 11 civilians were killed in the last 2a hours from russian strikes, including in ukraine's sumy region. Our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse has the latest from kyiv. Up until this point, ukraine's only been able to use targets inside russia which are close to the border which is involved in its full—scale invasion and what ukraine is desperately been wanting to do is strike deep inside russia on military air basis to hit those fighter—bombers and at the moment, ukraine says it is fighting effectively with one hand behind its back, you have these fighterjets the take off and they drop glide bombs and hundred kilometres or so from the border with ukraine and ukraine can do very little to stop them. Should there be any kind of lifting of restrictions, this would be a silver bullet, you win suddenly see a sizeable significant changing of the tide in fighting but it would help ukraine better defend itself, ithink. But let's be frank, ukraine is facing a mounting pile of difficulties at the moment. Its troops are going backwards in eastern ukraine, it's city coming under a very perilous threat and struggling to keep order of russian territories it seized last month and it is struggling to mobilise enough men to sustain its fight. Let's speak now to charles kupchan, a seniorfellow at the council on foreign relations and a former senio director for european affairs at the national security council. Thank you forjoining us on the bbc. What would you do if you were joe bbc. What would you do if you werejoe biden? i bbc. What would you do if you were joe biden?— were joe biden? i thinkjoe biden is treading _ were joe biden? i thinkjoe biden is treading with biden is treading with appropriate caution. He is done from the very beginning, some people criticise him for not moving quickly enough, i think when he said, let's wait and see where we are on tanks, let's wait and see what we are on f—16, let's wait and see where we are out on longer range attack comes, he was being appropriately to assess the situation on the battlefield and to manage the risk of escalation. Right now, there is a debate raging in the seems to be some difference of opinion between the british prime minister and the us president about deep strikes in the russian territory. —— atacms. There are two issues here, number one, how effective would they be militarily and the answer is, i'm not sure ukraine wouldn't be better off using them against crimea or targets in occupied ukraine and number two, targets in occupied ukraine and numbertwo, major targets in occupied ukraine and number two, major strikes deep into russia art strikes on the russian homeland. That does raise the prospect of potential escalation just as vladimir putin referred to yesterday. But is there a more profound question sitting below all of these discussions which is, with his current approach, the ukraine militarily looks unable to regain all of its territory? there is still talked of ukraine quote unquote victory, that the remote prospect and battlefield momentum is on russia's side, i think most people agree that this is a war that's going to end at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield, neither side is going to be able to generate the compact people ability to win, to vanquish the other decides military. —— capability. I think going into kursk, holding russian territory makes sense not because there is a huge military value in doing so but it does raise ukraine leveraged and the possibility of the threat of deep strikes is a good one because ultimately, i do think ukraine, with the backing of the uk, the us and other supporters need to try to convince russia that nobody is going to win this war, let's try to set a lead at the negotiating table and get a ceasefire. I negotiating table and get a ceasefire. — negotiating table and get a ceasefire. . ,. , ,. , ceasefire. I want to understand our ceasefire. I want to understand your position. _ ceasefire. I want to understand your position, you're _ ceasefire. I want to understand your position, you're saying your position, you're saying the thread of the long—range strikes could be useful in bringing russian to the negotiating table, when actually carrying out wrong — michael long rate strikes be more effective at persuading to come to the table? —— long—range strikes. Come to the table? longrange strikes. Ultimately, our small number— longrange strikes. Ultimately, our small number on _ longrange strikes. Ultimately, our small number on select our small number on select strikes may be part of a strategy of coercive diplomacy, i will not preclude that but i think it's important to kyiv clear that strikes on russian territory even deep strikes are not game changers militarily. They are not going to fundamentally alter the balance of forces on the battlefield and ukraine. And as a consequence, if the you as, uk and nato decide to use deeper strikes, they need to marry it to a strategy that tries to get russia and ukraine to the negotiating table is as i said, i don't think either side will win this war, the sooner we get a ceasefire, the better and the more likely it is that the 80% of ukraine that is still ukraine altogether and then we work to restore ukrainian territory integrity at the negotiating table, not a battlefield which looks like ukraine is not going to be able to prevail on. — to prevail on. And finally, do ou to prevail on. And finally, do you think — to prevail on. And finally, do you think the _ to prevail on. And finally, do you think the reason to prevail on. And finally, do you think the reason this to prevail on. And finally, do you think the reason this is l you think the reason this is particularly a centre of focus is because everyone knows the us election is coming in a couple of months time and the whole political situation here in washington could change? h0 in washington could change? iir: question that there is a great deal of uncertainty in kyiv, in europe, here in washington about the election and what it means for us strategy in ukraine and us strategy toward nato. So i think that, biden is looking at the story, knows that nobody knows what will happen in the november election and is trying to put ukraine in and is trying to put ukraine in a strong position as possible to get the stream of economic and military assistance to ukraine going because nobody knows who's going to win the selection and what would happen after the next president takes office. . ~' ,. , , after the next president takes office. . ~ ,, ,. Office. Thank you very much indeed for _ office. Thank you very much indeed for your _ office. Thank you very much indeed for your time, office. Thank you very much indeed for your time, we. Indeed for your time, we appreciated. Meanwhile, the uk foreign office has described kremlin accusations of spying against six british diplomats as ludicrous. The britons were expelled after moscow claimed london engaged in multiple unfriendly acts — threatening russia's security. The foreign office says the diplomats left weeks ago — it's an apparent tit—for—tat response for british restrictions against the russian embassy earlier this year. The united nations agency for palestinian refugees says that an employee was killed by a sniper in the occupied west bank. In a statement — the agency said the employee was a sanitation laborer and that he was shot on the roof of his home on thursday. It added that it's the first time one of its staff have been killed in the occupied west bank in more than 10 years. Ths news comes after the un confirmed six workers in gaza were killed in an israeli air strike on a un school in the nuseirat refugee camp on wednesday. In another development, pope francis has decried the deaths of palestinian children in israeli military strikes in gaza. The pope called israeli bombings of schools on the presumption of striking hamas militants ugly. He also expressed doubt that either israel or hamas are willing to end the conflict. The us presidential nominees are hitting the campaign trail hard. It's less than eight weeks to go. Vice president kamala harris delivered a stump—speech in pennsylvania, the same state where the debate was held this week. She spoke about her plans for the economy and protecting reproductive rights and once again was interrupted by pro—palestinian protesters. Here's how she responded. Ok, listen, listen. . . Now. . . Now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire. We have been working around the clock to get that done. Nrs backed your voice but right now, i am speaking. Backed your voice but right now, iam speaking. —— backed your voice but right now, i am speaking. —— and i respect your voice. Earlier on friday, former president donald trump held a news conference at his golf club in los angeles, where he referred to ms harris as a radical left marxist communist fascist. Mr trump touted his endorsement from hungary's victor orban, defended his close relationship with the hard—right conspiracy theorist laura loomer, and, he doubled down on comments about haitian migrants in ohio, saying he'd deport them to venezuela. These are migrants who are in the us legally. Here's some of what he said. Dumping ground, they call it, we are a dumping ground of venezuela because we are have stupid people running our country. And you think biden is mad? this one will be worse than him. We will do large deportation from springfield, ohio, large deportations, we will get these people out, bringing them back to bed as well. ,. , bringing them back to bed as well. . ,. Well. The mayor, the police chief, republican _ well. The mayor, the police| chief, republican governor, they— chief, republican governor, they the _ chief, republican governor, they the bunk the story and others _ they the bunk the story and others bomb threats and kits being — others bomb threats and kits being evacuated, why do you still spread. . . ? being evacuated, why do you still spread. . . ?_ still spread. . . ? no, the real threat is _ still spread. . . ? no, the real threat is what's _ still spread. . . ? no, the real threat is what's happening l still spread. . . ? no, the real | threat is what's happening at our border. Mr trump's comments follow those he made at tuesday's debate, when he repeated false claims about haitian migrants household pets. Speaking to journalists on a flight from singapore to indonesia, the pope said trump's stance on immigration and harris�*s views on abortion leave voters with a choice between the lesser of two evils. The governor of nigeria's borno state has told the bbc that up to two million people have been affected by major flooding in the region. Borno lies in the northeast of the country where thousands of homes have been destroyed by flooding. In neighboring chad, at least 300 people have died as a result of weeks of unusually heavy rainfall. These are some of the latest drone pictures showing the flooding in nigeria which followed the collapse of a dam earlier this week during heavy rainfall. Thousands of people are desperately short of food and shelter. The nigerian military have used boats and trucks to rescue displaced people. In europe, authorties in slovakia's capital bratislava have declared a state of emergency and are warning of severe flooding due to heavy rain. The situation is worsening as the level of the danube river rises. The government said: it's particularly bad in the zahoree region in the west of the country. A low—pressure area and a cold front over central and eastern europe is also expected to affect weather across the czech republic, austria and poland. Boeing's factories in seattle and portland have ground to a halt after union staff began a strike on friday. More than 30,000 employees rejected a contract deal that includes a 25% increase in pay for all workers, enhanced retirement plans, and 12 weeks of paid parental leave. The union initially asked for a 40% pay raise as well as improvements to workers' benefits. Boeing has already dealt with major setbacks this year such as when a panel on one of its passenger planes flew off. The company's starliner spacecraft has also seen a spate of technical glitches, stranding two us astronauts. Jon holden, president of the international association of machinists union, has been speaking on the failed deal and what's caused long—held discontent among boeing employees. The two starliner astronauts who are stuck on the international space station will remain there until at least february. Butch wilmore and sunita williams have been speaking for the first time about the challenges of living in space for such a long time. Pallab ghosh reports. Ignition and lift—off of starliner. Butch and suni blasted off for the international space station at the beginning ofjune. It was an eight—day mission. But three months on, they're still in space. We have you loud and clear. This is their first press conference to answer questions about how they feel about being stuck in space. You ask what we miss, right? of course, you know, the things that we always miss, ourfamilies, i miss my two dogs, i miss my friends, but, you know what? like butch said, there are so many people on earth that are sending us messages and it makes you feel just right at home. Butch and suni left earth with leaks in the propulsion system. Some of the thrusters cut out during docking. They arrived safely, greeted with the usual hugs. But engineers wanted to get to the bottom of the thruster problems before bringing them home. They never did, so do they feel let down by boeing, who made the starliner spacecraft? let down? absolutely not. We're pushing the edges of the envelope in everything that we do and it is not easy. Starliner is now backing away from station. Starliner returned to earth last week without butch and suni. Boeing said it would be completely safe for them, but nasa overruled them, and the astronauts said, for the first time, that they agreed. We found some things that we just could not get comfortable with, putting us back in the starliner, when we had other options. We could have gotten to the point, i believe, where we could have returned on starliner, but we just simply ran out of time. Butch and suni seem to be enjoying life on the space station. This is my happy place, i love being up here in space. It'sjust fun, you know. Every day you do something that's work. You can do it upside down. Suni and butch are working with the rest of the space station crew with experiments, maintenance and. . . Having fun. Pallab ghosh, bbc news. Let's turn to some other important news around the world. 37 people have been sentenced to death in the democratic republic of congo, for taking part in what authorities say was an attempted coup. Three americans, a briton, a belgian, and a canadian national are among those sentenced for leading an attack on the presidential palace in may. Authorities in vietnam say 254 people have died in landslides and flash foods from typhoon yagi. More than 820 have been injured and dozens more remain missing. The un children's agency, unicef, says hundreds of thousands of children have lost the their homes and lack access to clean water and healthcare. About 2 million children have been left without access to education due to major damage to schools. Unicf says an initial $15 million is needed to address the critical needs of those affected. Justin timberlake urged people to practice safe driving outside a courthouse in sag harbor new york, after pleading guilty on friday to impaired driving. Timberlake must pay a $500 fine, as well as complete 25 hours of community service. The pop star's plea resolves the drink driving case tied to his arrest injune, when mr timberlake was stopped for running a stop sign and swerving into the oncoming lane. Prince harry has told the bbc, whilst he was anxious about turning 30, he is excited about turning a0 this weekend. The duke of sussex plans to celebrate his 40th birthday on sunday with his family in california, before heading off on a break with a group of his closest friends. In a statement to the bbc, the prince said whatever the age, my mission is to continue showing up and doing good in the world. It's been a turbulent decade for the duke of sussex. He's become a husband and a father, split acrimoniously from the royal family, and moved to california. But he appears to be approaching his 40th with a sense of positivity. We asked prince harry how he felt about his birthday. In a statement to the bbc, he told us. . . He also spoke about the importance of his family — with meghan, duchess of sussex, and their children archie and lilibet. Back in may, we filmed harry as he led the games at a kids party while visiting london. Every child in this room has lost a parent who served in the military. In recent weeks, there has been speculation that harry's next decade could include a return to the uk on a more permanent basis. But those who know him well have told me he has no interest in giving up the life he's built in america. As he heads into his 40s, though, there will be some strong reasons pulling him back to the uk. The invictus games for injured servicemen and women will be held in birmingham in 2027. Created by harry when he was 30, it remains a personal passion ten years on. He's described it to me, you know, as his first child. I mean, it is a very important thing. I think it speaks very. . . Deeply to the soldier in him. If you look back at 2014, you know, there was a strong representation of the royal family, and it was great to see. And, of course, everybody hopes that we'll see that again. But his fall—out with the royal family has been painful for all concerned — particularly the broken bond with his brother. There is no reconciliation on the cards. The diana award — set up in his mother's name to empower young people — is in a unique position. Despite the family tensions, both william and harry continue to engage with the organisation, but in different ways. Next month, harry will be in new york to highlight their work. We're deeply honoured to have both of them, but on the other hand, they've always both said, you know, it's their mother's charity — they're deeply committed to her, deeply committed to the work, and it's something that they just continue to support. In colombia last month, to promote the work of their archewell foundation, there will be more of these types of trips ahead. They are the harry and meghan version of a royal tour. A 40th birthday can be a time to reflect, and ponder what's next. For prince harry, there is much to think about. Daniela relph, bbc news. Taking impressive photographs of animals in the wild requires skill, patience and great timing — but doing it underwater makes the task even harder. The ocean photographer of the year competition captures the wonders of the deep sea, and highlights some of the challenges ahead, as meghan owen reports. 15,000 photos whittled down to one. This was the winning entry of a nearly extinct bryde whale, feeding on a heart—shaped bait ball. A private performance given a larger stage at piccadilly circus. Cheering and applause. The man who shot it said the whale came out of the blue. We were even thinking about getting out of the water because there was no action going on. But a huge bryde whale came out of nowhere and ate the whole thing, so it was an once—in—a—lifetime moment. It's a role that involves getting up close and personal. At the exact moment of the pictures, i free dived to maybe four metres deep and maybe i was four metres or three metres from the whale. That is the exact moment of the encounter. So, super close and my heart was beating so fast, to be with a huge animal that close. The runner—up, this image of a northern gannet, one of the largest seabirds in british waters, diving to catch its prey. And scooping up third place, an aerial shot of a fishing boat in hon yen, vietnam. A long tail of smoke perfectly aligning with the shape of the green nets below the surface. But these works of art often have a deeper meaning, recognised through the impact award. With a single image, it can convey so much information but also, in particular, emotion, in a way that no presentation of facts can and it's that storytelling that makes us want to do what the science tells us we need to do. A show of our oceans�* beauty and a reminder to conserve it through the lens of photography. Meghan owen, bbc news. And before we go, let's leave you with. . . This video of this humpback whale that was freed from fishing ropes after a four—day rescue in canada, off the coast of prince rupert in british columbia. Drone footage shows canadian fisheries�* officers freeing the whale by cutting the 50 lines which had been wrapped around its body. Thank you forjoining me, i will see you in half—an—hour. Hello there. It was an unseasonably chilly start to friday morning with a touch of frost for some, but lots of blue sky and sunshine throughout the day and we started to draw in that warmer feeling air. Now that trend is just set to continue over the next few days. So warmer by day, milder by night, too. For the weekend — some sunshine, but also some outbreaks of rain here and there, too. You can see all of the sunshine clearly with the lack of cloud on the satellite picture here. We will see this front just gradually continue to push its way further eastwards through the rest of the night, bringing outbreaks of rain across northern ireland and western scotland. More cloud here, too, and some of the cloud will seep down into northern england. It's windy out towards the northwest, but look at much of england and wales — dry with clear skies again. And while it's not quite as cold as it was last night here, temperatures rurally could still drop, perhaps as low as 3 or 4 c. And then on saturday, well we're set to keep a lot of that sunshine across england and wales through the day. It will stay dry here, more cloud towards the north and probably some more in the way of high cloud through the afternoon turning the sunshine hazy. Meanwhile, across northern ireland, western scotland we'll see outbreaks of rain push eastwards. Taking their time to reach eastern scotland — dry here for much of the day. Windy across the border, fresh south—westerly wind. Highs of 16 to 19 c, so already feeling warmer. And then on sunday, our front continues to slip southwards and eastwards across from northern england, down through wales, the midlands and eventually into south east england, but there will be some sunshine ahead of our front. It will stay dry during the daylight hours, 20 degrees so warm and sunshine developing behind the front, too, with some showers scattered across northern and western scotland. So here's our area of high pressure that's going to keep us largely dry and settled into next week. It's gradually pushing further eastwards over the next few days, but on monday we could start off the day with those lighter winds, with some areas of mist and fog that could take a little time, perhaps to lift and clear through the morning. But they will do so and there'll be some sunshine emerging and temperatures will be higher. So we're looking at 15 to 21 c, perhaps north to south. And those temperatures could rise even further — low to mid 20s potentially, especially in the south as we head through the middle of next week. Lots more sunshine to come. Voiceover: this is bbc news. We'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme.