this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 11: the un security council struggles to agree on a ceasefire, as bombardment continues of civilians trapped in syria. dozens are reported to have been killed today — over 400 this week — with medical supplies running out. here, a review finds notjust girls, but also vulnerable women are being sexually abused by grooming gangs in the north—east of england. eu leaders meet without theresa may, and warn the uk can't cherry pick its terms and to think otherwise is pure illusion. donald trump repeats his call to the party faithful that teachers should carry a gun in schools. the beauty is it's concealed. nobody would ever see it unless they needed it, and a teacher would have shot the hell out of him before he knew what happened.

(applause) and on newsnight, something strange is happening in london and some of the world's other big cities. people are using public transport less. no—one seems to know why. is it uber? is it cycling? or an early sign that the endless growth of big cities is reaching its limit? hello. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a vote on a un security council resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in syria has again been pushed back. three times today, an announcement had been expected and then delayed — a vote now won't take place until tomorrow at the earliest. there were more air strikes earlier targeting the rebel—held area of eastern ghouta, near damascus, which has been under heavy

bombardment since sunday. more than 400 people are now reported to have been killed this week. 0ur middle east editor jeremy bowen has this report. this is what happened in eastern ghouta as diplomacy stuttered. the enclave was pounded. 400,000 or so people spend most of the day underground. above them, russian jets, with their syrian allies, were in action. as the russians demanded guarantees that rebel fighters would respect any truce. in eastern ghouta, men from civil defence risked their lives to rescue civilians, even though the buildings could collapse and the planes could come back. in the dust and confusion, these children were separated from their parents. the rescuers ignored the dangers.

the eu condemned what it called "brutal attacks". diplomacy is supposed to find words and deeds to stop this happening. they were rushed into underground hospitals. it is hard to end a war, or even a battle, with words. especially when one side — in syria, the regime and its allies — believes victory is close. in syria, military power, the capacity to inflict pain and death, sets the pace of events. treating the wounded is one—way for humanity to push back. another is to create small pockets of normality, kindness and decency. this girl is 11 years old,

and like most people in eastern ghouta, she has been living in a basement. mothers and their children wait and hope. translation: it has been two months since i went to school and saw my friends. we are here in the shelter because of the bombing. the rockets and missiles never end. i hope the war will stop so we can go home. among syria's children, only teenagers remember peace. the world has failed a generation. these men waited for a lull in the bombing to try to bury a member of theirfamily. but they ran out of time. in syria, nobody can rest in peace. jeremy bowen, bbc news. the late is now on note un resolution, north america correspondent nick bryant is that the united nations in new york, from

where he centres this update. all 14 members of the security council have been meeting behind closed doors in a conference room very close to where i am standing in the last 20 minutes, the russian ambassador has walked past me. i asked him minutes, the russian ambassador has walked past me. iasked him if minutes, the russian ambassador has walked past me. i asked him if there was going to be any agreement, he said we will see tomorrow. the russians have been demanding changes to the draft resolution and many concessions have been made and according to negotiators, some of the problems are not over the substance, they are over semantics, words, granular details, and what western diplomats have been saying all along is that these are delaying tactics by the russians to give more time to the regime on the ground in eastern ghouta to give more time to its military. humanitarian aid agencies work on the ground here and have watched this with increasing frustration, they want to be organising humanitarian convoys to

go into eastern ghouta. they are waiting for a green light from the security council and at the moment, the russians will not give it and it sounds like we're going to have to come back tomorrow and see if they can reach an agreement. a review into sexual exploitation in the north—east of england has concluded it is likely that notjust girls, but also vulnerable women are being "extensively" abused across the uk. it follows 0peration sanctuary in august last year, which saw these 18 people jailed for the sexual abuse of young women and girls groomed in newcastle. a review of that case has concluded that a number of gangs have abused more than 700 victims across northumberland. from newcastle, fiona trott reports. a city under scrutiny. on these streets, as many as 700 vulnerable girls and women were sexually exploited. some were trafficked from one house to another and abused by several men. vanessa, not her real name, was a victim of sexual exploitation. to protect her identity,

we've used an actor's voice. at first, nothing was expected. i'd just meet them and sit and have a drink with them. but as time went on, i would have to have sex with them. when you're in care, they say you need education. but what they seem to forget is that you can have mental intelligence, but if you're not emotionally educated, it's pointless. that's why schools like this one are teaching children about grooming. 0peration sanctuary happened on their doorstep. in newcastle, we've seen people being arrested. generally, it tends to be men. it makes you kind of afraid to go out in case it ever happened to you or your friend. are you that worried? yeah. scared in case it happened to me and you don't know who to turn to, or who you could trust. both people in a relationship need to be comfortable and you need to be in a situation where they can, like, open up and listen. today's report says it's not just children.

for the first time, a focus on vulnerable adults and a warning to other towns and cities across the uk. what i'd like the government to do is to have a really good look at the learning that's now available about abuse of adults with vulnerabilities, check the legislation, make sure the legislation that's in place is fit for purpose. you all right, there? hiya, you 0k? in the meantime, this is how police are tackling the problem now. takeaway staff across newcastle are being trained on how to spot adult victims. they know the exploitation still exists in this city. i think it would be naive and wrong for me to suggest that because of sanctuary, and at the point that this report is published, that this has stopped. that we've solved the problem. we haven't. it continues. it carries on, i would suggest, in most, if not all towns and cities in the uk. most of the perpetrators who cruised these streets were from pakistani,

bangladeshi and indian backgrounds. today's report is calling for research into their cultures to understand their motivation and what it calls an "arrogant persistence". fiona trott, bbc news, newcastle. donald tusk, the president of the european council has described as "pure illusion" any attempt by britain to pick and choose the terms of its future relationship with europe. mr tusk — speaking at a summit of eu leaders not attended by britain — said that he hoped to get more clarity on exactly what the uk's proposals were when he meets theresa may next week. from brussels, damian grammaticas reports. france, germany, italy, europe's leaders all in brussels today, all waiting to hear what the uk wants from its future ties. but if the may's plan is to seek special access to the single market for parts of the uk economy, it was immediately

rebuffed. it is not amalekites, it is not possible to be aligned with the european union when it suits and not what it doesn't. that is not possible. —— a la carte. not what it doesn't. that is not possible. -- a la carte. the eu does not yet know what was decided by a theresa may and her ministers yesterday. eu has said before, and they said again today, she cannot pick and choose only the parts of the single market she likes. i'm glad that the uk market seems to be moving towards a more position. however, if the media reports are correct, i am afraid that their position today is based on pure logic. it looks like it is still alive. but the uk's exit poses problems for the eu too. today, they we re problems for the eu too. today, they were tackling perhaps the thorniest issue of all, the eu's looming

budget problem. when uk payments to the eu sees, the eu will face a shortfall of at least 10% of its annual spending. would you accept less and see cuts to spending? well, if you listen to politicians that are holding the budget, usually things are financed. if we want to finance more, we have to pay more. it is very simple. is your country prepared to pay more after brexit? no. if i was to give your short answer, i would say no. soaking that divisions between the eu countries and that might just divisions between the eu countries and that mightjust give the uk at leverage in negotiations to come. —— some leverage. president trump has repeated his call for teachers to be armed with guns so that they can — in his words — "shoot the hell out

of any attackers." he was speaking as pressure grows for action after the shooting at a school in florida last week that left 17 peoplke dead. meanwhile, the governor of florida has announced proposals to restrict the sale of guns and to raise the minimum age at which you can buy them to 21. 0ur north america editor jon sopel has this report. staff and teachers return to the marjory stoneman douglas of what happened. for some, it's all about guns. for others, it's mental health and societal breakdown. but today, a new culprit. scot peterson, a deputy sheriff who arrived outside the school 90 seconds after the shooting started, but for whatever reason didn't act. and he's taking a mighty kicking from the president. he was there for five minutes, during the entire shooting. he heard it right from the beginning. that's the case, where somebody was outside.

they were trained. they didn't react properly under pressure or they were cowards. speaking to conservative activists, the president also restated his belief that some teachers should be carrying concealed weapons in school. and the beauty is it's concealed, nobody would ever see it — unless they needed it. it's concealed! so this crazy man who walked in wouldn't even know who it is that has it, that's good. that's not bad, that's good. and a teacher would have shot the hell out of him before he knew what happened. and in florida, the governor has announced a range of measures to tighten security. the goalrefr this plan aiaatieu in protecting our schools. provide significantly more resources for mental health, and to do everything we can to keep guns out of the hands of those dealing with mental problems or threatening harm to themselves or others. the president hasjust told a news conference,

"we are well on the way to solving that horrible problem of gun violence". but so far, there have only been sketchy proposals and no class of weapon is being banned. well on the way? well, that might be wishful thinking. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the mother of two young brothers killed in a suspected hit—and—run in coventry has paid tribute to her sons, and described them as "happy, caring and lovely" children. corey and casper platt—may, who were aged six and two, were killed yesterday afternoon. a man in his 50s, and a woman in her 40s, are being questioned by police on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and drink driving. they've been working hard at the un security council today, but getting nothing done. meanwhile, with no ceasefire agreed, the syrian government has been busy

in its familiar way — bombing eastern ghouta. you might have hoped that somehow diplomacy or human decency would lead to a pause in the brutality. but hope is all too scarce. i'm witnessing these things before my eyes. when the bomb landed near us, the children panicked and were crying out loud. it's part of the united kingdom, except it opts out of the socially liberal bits. what explains northern ireland's social conservatism? we know the society that we want to be part of. we know there is overwhelming public support for some of these issues, so it's really disappointing that some of our leaders cannot and fewer people are using public transport in the capital.