Ukraine war: Soldier tells BBC of front-line 'hell'

The BBC has had access to the thoughts of one front-line soldier who has given a sobering account of Ukraine's struggle to cling on to its foothold on the east bank of the vast Dnipro river. Several hundred Ukrainian soldiers have made it there as part of a counter-offensive launched six months ago. Our reporter has a special report on the desperate situation soldiers are enduring there. And, as we come to the end of a second year of fighting, we hear about the morale among Ukrainian soldiers.

The Israeli military says it's expanding its ground operation into "all areas" of the Gaza Strip following the resumption of fighting on Friday. A surgeon at a hospital in Khan Younis has told the BBC it's overwhelmed by hundreds of wounded.

Torrential rains and flooding have killed dozens and displaced thousands of people in East Africa. Our colleague has been speaking to people living through the floods.

And we go to Afghanistan and hear about the impact the Taliban has had on women's education in the country following their return to power in 2021. An estimated 5,000 female medical students have been blocked from taking their final exit exams by the Taliban, we hear from some of them.

(Photo: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stands next to a Swedish CV90 armoured fighting vehicle as he visits a position of Ukrainian troops in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location, Ukraine October 3, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)