it comes as reports in the american media suggest that the united states is planning to give ukraine advanced long—range missiles to help with its ongoing counteroffensive against russia. they quote us officials familiar with the issue as saying ukraine will get some missiles — similar to the ones we're seeing here — with a range of up to 190 miles. that would allow kyiv to hit russian targets deep behind the front line. neither the us nor ukraine have officially confirmed the media reports. with more on this i'm joined from the newsroom by europe regional editor for the bbc world service, danny aeberhard. hello. think you forjoining us. we have heard a lot about the significance of the specific type of weapons. can you tell us a bit about them? ~ , , ., weapons. can you tell us a bit about them? , them? well, this is our basically wea ons them? well, this is our basically weapons that — them? well, this is our basically weapons that go _ them? well, this is our basically weapons that go with _ them? well, this is our basically weapons that go with the - them? well, this is our basically weapons that go with the high . them? well, this is our basically i weapons that go with the high mast system of delivery and they are used to hit long—range targets. it is not clear yet whether ukraine is going to get them, the white house is not confirmed that. there are reports in the media that they could be pitted with cluster bomb emissions so rather than weapon tips designed to penetrate things like that or even attack crimean. it is unclear when these things will happen, whether they will happen and what time they will be delivered if it is indeed confirmed. fin will be delivered if it is indeed confirmed-— will be delivered if it is indeed confirmed. . ., ., confirmed. on crimea, we have heard earlier today — confirmed. on crimea, we have heard earlier today that _ confirmed. on crimea, we have heard earlier today that ukraine _ confirmed. on crimea, we have heard earlier today that ukraine is _ earlier today that ukraine is claiming that senior russian commanders were killed in that attack. it is quite a key part of this offensive, isn't it? absolutely. sevastopol is the heart of russian occupied crimea. it has been a russian naval base long term there, it was leased by russia from ukraine in the years prior to the illegal annexation of crimea in 2014. out of the headquarters of the black sea fleet, the ships are used, for example, to try and force a blockade of ukraine in terms of ukrainian grain exports. and also, to attack ukraine with missiles. so this extremely significant that ukraine is striking this. it seems that russia is unable to completely prevent strikes and so, the attack yesterday was very symbolic on that level. we have various ukrainian claims. the head of military intelligence said that nine people were killed and 16 people injured in the attack yesterday. it is not clear where he is getting this information, he didn't reveal his own sources and it hasn't been independently confirmed. he said that two generals are badly injured, one of them is involved in the russian campaign in zaporizhzhia, the area to the north of crimea and another who is linked to russia's zero sea fleet. he did not say the firm report that the admiral of the black sea fleet was killed. there's a lot we don't know. the ministry of defence in russia so said that one person is missing. ukraine's special forces have said that basically, the attacks were timed to coincide with attacks were timed to coincide with a meeting of russia's naval leadership but again, we haven't had that confirmed and it is not clear what evidence is that that. thank ou ve what evidence is that that. thank you very much — what evidence is that that. thank you very much for _ what evidence is that that. thank you very much for that _ what evidence is that that. thank you very much for that update. . that was our europe regional editor for the bbc world service, danny aeberhard. you can read more about that on the bbc website. comedian and actor russell brand has made his first public statement since sexual assault allegations were made against him a week ago. in a video posted on his youtube channel, he did not directly address the claims but thanked supporters for "questioning" the media reports. he also criticised the government and technology companies. 0ur reporter simonjones has more. hello there, you awakening wonders. back on social media for the first time in a week. obviously, it's been an extraordinary and distressing week, and i thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you've been presented with. july 1st, 2012, was when my rape happened. this week, russell brand faced allegations of rape and sexual assault following claims by four women made in an investigation by channel four�*s dispatches and the sunday times, claims he had previously denied. he insisted his relationships had always been consensual. the bbc also heard from one woman who said in 2008, in this building in los angeles, where russell brand was recording his radio 2 programme, he allegedly exposed himself to her in a bathroom before joking about the incident minutes later on air. and one comedian who worked with russell brand in the early 2000 said he had had concerns about his behaviour, claims mr brand has not responded to. a lot of the modelling | agents would sit down and tell their models, tell their stables, - warn them about him. things like, you know, - people go back to his house and they fooled around and then if they didn't want to go - all the way, he had a reputation - for sometimes getting angry or a bit nasty if people wouldn't sleep with him the first time. - youtube has now suspended russell brand's channels from making money from adverts for violating its creator responsibility policy. the culture, media and sport committee had expressed concerns about mr brand being able to monetise his content, something the comedian hits out at on his latest video. by now, you're probably aware that the british government have asked big tech platforms to censor our online content and that some online platforms have complied with that request. in this three—minute video, russell brand does not directly address the allegations he's been facing, but he does talk about what he calls "media corruption and collusion". the bbc has made several requests to speak to mr brand over the past week, but he has chosen to talk directly to his followers on social media rather than facing outside scrutiny. russell brand says he'll post another video on monday as investigations into his alleged behaviour continue. simon jones, bbc news. former prime minister, borisjohnson has warned the uk government against scaling back the high speed rail project hs2 amid speculation part of the route could be scrapped. the criticism comes as dozens of company bosses and business groups in england have signed a letter urging prime minister rishi sunak, to re—commit to the high—speed railway. costs around hs2 have increased significantly and are now well above its original budget of £33bn, which was set a decade ago when work on the line began. earlier i spoke to simon calder travel correspondent of the independent, and i asked him who can expect to lose out from the changes anywhere north of birmingham. if i canjust remind you of the original hs2 project which began so long ago that it was actually a labour government in charge and after that, the coalition and then the conservatives said, yes, this is a great idea. the basic plan is to completely transform our victorian network to add capacity. to ta ke to take the victorian network which has served us well but to transform it in terms of actually having the capacity that we need for the 21st century. so you have a birmingham to london link and then you have two legs, one going to manchester and one going to leeds via sheffield. that was always the plan with also a northern powerhouse rail across the pennines linking liverpool, manchester, bradford, leeds and hull. gradually, bits had been lopped off particularly the eastern leg. that was taken away two years ago, instead of that there is supposed to be one running as far as east midlands airport. now, we don't believe, or rather the government said in the spring, that it was committed from delivering from london euston to manchester. it looks as though we might be stuck with simply a high—speed link between birmingham and a place called 0ld 0ak common in west london where you get off your train and get on to an elizabeth line train. everyone is up in arms about this from the rail industry, from northern offices because it is simply the opposite of levelling up. the environmentalists are upset away their land has been dug up. and everyone is desperately upset. the hs2 parade has been well and truly rained on and it seems to be simply a matter of failing to specify exactly what it is, chopping and changing, all in which, every time a decision is taking add billions to the bill which is rapidly escalating towards £100 billion. russia says its peacekeepers in the disputed enclave of nagono— in the disputed enclave of nagorno— karabakh have started to receive weapons from ethnic—armenian separatists. on wednesday, the separatist authorities there agreed to disarm, to stop a military offensive by azerbaijan. i spoke earlier to our correspondent rahyan demytrie, who is following the story from tblisi. right now, the focus is really on the humanitarian situation in nagorno—karabakh where thousands of people have basically collected in the regional capitals, without any kind of certainty of what happens next to them. there is a dire humanitarian situation as it was reported today by the international community which is called on azerbaijan which has called on azerbaijan to immediately take steps to help these people. what happened on tuesday september the 19th, this a 24—hour military operation. before that, the entire community of nagorno—karabakh, an estimated 120,000 ethnic armenians, they have been subjected to an economic blockade. for nine months, they were not getting proper nutrition, there were severe shortages of food. people had to queue for bread for hours. no medical supplies, no hygiene supplies. this is the situation now. after experiencing this blockade for nine months, then there was this military operation that lasted 24 hours. a lot of people had to run away from their homes without any belongings and they are all now concentrated in the regional capital without knowing what comes next. it sounds like a dire situation. in terms of green shoots of hope is there any offer or facilitation for those affected? absolutely. azerbaijan says that it is in control and that it is sent control and that it has sent yesterday two trunks with 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid and separately two trucks with bread to its armenian population in nagorno—karabakh. the question is how this food is being distributed. in the regional capital, there are no azerbaijan authorities. it is still under the control of local ethnic armenian authorities. that was our correspondence there. sudan's army chief has said he is willing, in principle, to hold talks with his paramilitary rival to end the civil war that broke out in april. general abdel fattah al—burhan, head of the sudanese armed forces, said he was ready in principle to sit down with mohamed hamdan dagalo, leader of the rapid support forces. the two men have been fighting a brutal war which the united nations says has left more 5,000 people dead and more than 5 million displaced. 0ur diplomatic correspondentjames landale spoke to the general in new york, and began by asking him why neither side appeared willing to engage in peace talks. we have the desire and will to end this war. we know the suffering of the sudanese people. we know the atrocities committed against the sudanese people. we are ready to engage in negotiations. are you prepared to sit down and talk with the rsf leader? if the leadership of this force has the desire to return to its senses and pull its troops out of the residential areas and return to its barracks, then we will sit with any of them. but in principle are you ready to sit down and talk to them? absolutely. whenever he commits to what we agreed, we will sit to resolve this problem. anoushka kurkjian is the director, of the songhai advisory. she explained how seriously the latest possibility of peace talks will be taken. more than previous ones. there is a huge bias that this conflict left unchecked has already had huge regional implications. there is no military solution, we have seen over the past five months that the army, despite the aerial supremacy has not been able to gain the upper hand entirely. in fact he has moved his headquarters across sudan and we find ourselves, it is essentially in a stalemate. he is not making these statements out of a position of strength. you said that there isn't really a military solution so to speak to this conflict. do you think there will be somebody or an individual prevailing out of the two rivals here? i can't see that happening. i think the rsf has entrenched itself in strategic locations. i think they both have their prospective backers. in the country is disintegrating a warring ethnic lines. it was always going to be a zero—sum game but now we see a realisation that there needs to be some sort of outcome here. in terms of neighbouring countries are indeed countries beyond, or indeed countries beyond, which nations have the most influence in sudan, would you say? obviously it's saudi arabia, egypt but also its immediate neighbours are using all of their leveraged. it very limited in scope and it is how you build on that and address the key challenges. local media in nigeria is reporting that six students abducted by gunmen at a university in the north west state of zamfara have been rescued by the army. students described armed bandits arriving on motorcycles and firing indiscriminately during the incident in gusau in the early hours of friday. the state governor's spokesperson said 35 people were taken, the majority of them female. 0ur correspondent azeezat 0laloowa is in lagos and following developments. about six people have been rescued and that was yesterday and the rescue operation is still ongoing. the governor of the state called an emergency security meeting yesterday, reading the riot act to the security chiefs that they must do everything within their power to secure an immediate release of everyone abducted. we know that the governor said one of his main focus was coming into power to tackle the insecurity that his state is known for and he would not at any time negotiate with criminals. so this appears to be a litmus test to see how it will handle the situation. hearing this news will remember the time of the chebbak girls and various other incidents. have there been many clampdowns on this sort of events and incidents and how do parents feel about sending their children to school knowing these sorts of things can happen? it's very worrying because this situation has inspired a bbc africa eye investigation called the bandit warlords and some of those interviewed after the government negotiated for the release of more than 300 students kidnapped in 2021, some of them told bbc news they will not even consider going back to school. and that is the real threat these kinds of security situations have on the future of young people especially girls in northern nigeria. the president came into power and promise to would tackle the insecurity in the country but zamfara in particular is known to be very notorious for kidnapping for ransom. at the moment, we do not know any other information because there is no official statement from the government, no statement from the security architecture and we do not even know which parents have come forward to say anything to the government. everything is under wraps because of the ongoing rescue operation. a new study has found that people living with long covid after being hospitalised are more likely to have damage to major organs. analysis of mri scans showed that the patients were three times more likely to have some abnormalities in the lungs, brain and kidneys. researchers believe there is a link with the severity of the illness. earlier i spoke to professor betty raman, associate professor at the university of oxford, who told me more about the study. our study is one of the most comprehensive follow—up mri studies of patients who were previously hospitalised with covid—19 and we found the lungs, brain and kidneys can be affected in people who were previously hospitalised about five months from infection. what does that mean for individuals, how will they experience these symptoms and will they necessarily be aware of what is going on? yes, in people who have lung mri abnormalities there appears to be a higher prevalence of chest symptoms like tightness and a cough but with regards to the other organs, we did not see a clear association but on the other hand, when you look at people with two or more organs being involved, they appeared to be more likely to experience more severe physical and mental health impairment, at least four times more likely to feel unwell compared to the control population who had never previously had covid—19. that was the doctor who led the study. for the past year, italy has had the most right—wing government since world war ii. now it's planning to criminalise people who travel abroad to have children via surrogacy, which is already banned at home. while the majority of italians who seek surrogacy abroad are believed to be heterosexual, many same—sex parents fear the new law is targeting lgbt families, by making it harder for them to have children. 0ur correspondent sofia bettiza has this report. applause since georgia meloni swept to power as italy's first female prime minister, lgbt families have felt under attack. a few months ago, the government ordered city councils to stop the registration of most children with same sex parents. this has left hundreds of children in legal limbo, like mauro and mauricio's twins. they were born in america through surrogacy — when a woman carries a pregnancy for another couple. something happened and we have to go to the hospital. we legally, we cannot take decision for them. we should call a judge. under the eye of italian law we have no relationships whatsoever with these children now. the ideological battle of the government is actually damaging the children. and now the italian government is planning to make surrogacy a universal crime. that means that couples who go abroad to countries where it is legal could face a e1 million fine and up to two years in jail. so what is a universal crime? it's a crime so serious that it's prosecuted even if committed abroad, but that is normally human trafficking, paedophilia or war crimes. it feels odd that surrogacy, which is legal in many countries, would fall under this category. many people feel that this is about ideology. it's a political attack, and it's personal. i asked the mp who designed the bill if this is an attack on the lgbt community. translation: absolutely false. most people who use surrogacy are heterosexual. this is a law that protects women from being exploited. we are not discriminating against children. this bill only targets the parents who commission a baby. we're on our way to meet two men who are expecting a baby through a surrogacy. they are really scared of what could happen to them and their baby. and so they've asked us not to reveal their identities. they might be forced to leave italy for a more gay—friendly country. i'm afraid that our child won't have his parents because their parents are injail. so do you feel like you are having to seek political asylum? yes, i do. i'm feeling like we have to be... to be ready to escape as quick as possible. the lgbt community is fighting back. chanting but the proposal to make surrogacy a universal crime is likely to become law, chipping away at the already fragile status of italy's same sex families. sofia bettiza, bbc news, italy. and there is more on that report on our website. stay with us here on bbc news. it's going to turn warmer and it's going to turn windier this weekend thanks to this weather system that we will see on our earlier satellite picture. this contains a remnant of what was hurricane nigel. certainly not a hurricane any more but an of tropical moisture and some slightly higher temperatures. tropical moisture and some slightly highertemperatures. forthe tropical moisture and some slightly higher temperatures. for the rest of the day, we will see cloud and sun rain spreading into western parts of the uk. particularly northern ireland. still on the call side for the time being and then as we head through this evening and tonight, we will see strong winds and outbreaks of rain across western parts. another pulse of rain starting to push up towards the south—west of england and wales by the end of the night. it is going to be milder than last night. by the start of sunday morning, 11 to 16 celsius. by sunday, we see this frontal system which will continue to bring outbreaks of heavy rain, especially across western areas. and we will have pretty strong winds. these outbreaks of rain through sunday spreading across western parts of england and wales, a bit of rain for northern ireland, some rain returning to the south—west of scotland. all the while, east anglia and the south—east a mostly dry with and the south—east a mostly dry with a little bit of sunshine. temperatures hit up to 21 celsius, a warmer day generally in spite of the cloud and outbreaks of rain. of course, the wins will be coming up from the south. into sunday evening, we will see very heavy bursts of rain across western areas, some gusty wind. in fact, we could see gusts of wind up to 60 mph and particularly wet weather moving across central parts of scotland. the weather system responsible would tend to clear three as we head into monday, low pressure still in charge of the scene as we head into monday. we wait see some pretty heavy showers, may be thundery once across northern ireland and west of scotland. more in the way of dry weather and spells of sunshine and it is going to feel quite warm out there with highs of 22 in the south—east. as we look further ahead, 22 in the south—east. as we look furtherahead, it 22 in the south—east. as we look further ahead, it is going to be a very unsettled week. there will be outbreaks of heavy rain and potentially some very strong winds for some of us around the middle of the week. this is bbc news. the headlines. the head of ukraine's military intelligence claims that russian commanders were among those injured in friday's missile strike on the headquarters of russia's black sea fleet in occupied crimea. separatists in disputed nagorno—karabakh give up their weapons according to russian peacekeepers, as humanitarian aid begins to reach the thousands who fled following a military offensive led by the azerbaijani government. a study in the uk finds people living with long covid after leaving hospital are more likely to show damage to major organs. researchers say they believe there is a link to the severity of the illness. and in the uk, borisjohnson urges the government not to scale back plans to build the hs2 high speed rail link amid speculation part of the route could be axed. now on bbc news, click. spencer kelly: this week, nick looks at meta's latest project to help people make sense of the horrors of the past. this is more than bringing back a dead person. this way, you can make that person... ..give them a thousand years of life. lara lewington: can smartphone apps really provide _ an effective alternative to hormonal contraception? it tells you when you're not fertile and when you're fertile. _ and open wide...

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