welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. our top stories: america's national rifle association takes legal action against new gun legislation introduced in the state of florida. donald trump strikes a positive tone over a potential meeting with kimjong—un, saying a deal is very much in the making. in syria, an aid convoy successfully unloads its food supplies in the rebel—held enclave of eastern ghouta. a former us drug company executive who became infamous for hiking the price of a life—saving medicine is sentenced to seven years in prison. welcome to the programme.

the bitter row over america's gun laws has resurfaced, with the pro—gun lobby group, the national rifle association, mounting a swift legal challenge to new gun control measures signed into law in florida. the legislation imposes a 21—year—old age limit and a three—day waiting period on all gun purchases. the move follows a school shooting at parkland, in which 17 students were killed. russell trott reports. for supporters of gun control and the families of those killed in florida's school shooting, it was a simple yet historic moment as governor rick scott signs new gun control legislation into law. the bill raises the age to buy a gun from 18 to 21 and imposes a three—day waiting period on all gun sales. it allows school personnel to be armed, subject to school district approval and specialist training. but, most notably, the law doesn't include a ban on semiautomatic assault rifles —

the kind that was used in the school shooting. so after reviewing the entire bill, i had to ask myself "will this bill make a huge investment and dramatically improve school safety in hopes of never seeing another tragedy like this again? will this bill provide more funding to treat the mentally ill? will this bill give far more tools to keep guns away from people who should not have them?" the answer to all three is yes. it was one of the worst school shootings in us history. within the space of ten minutes, 17 teachers and students were gunned down at marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland, florida. expelled former student nikolas cruz, who is 19, has been charged with murder and attempted murder. chanting: what do we want? gun control! when do we want it? now! protesters took their campaign for tighter gun control to washington... it's an honour to have you here. ..meeting president trump in the process.

governor scott is himself a member of the pro—gun lobby, the nra. it's now filed a federal lawsuit, claiming the bill violates both the second and 14th amendments of the constitution — the right to bear arms and to equal protection under the law. he says the bill is a compromise, balancing individual rights with the need for public safety. russell trott, bbc news. our correspondent chris buckler has been following the story from washington for us. he says they're objecting to the law on a number of fronts. the nra is particularly objecting to the part of the act which stops anyone from the age of 21 from being able to buy a gun. that raises the age from 18 to 21 in florida, and as far as they are concerned, they say it breaches the constitutional rights of americans. they say it is against amendments — the second amendment

of the constitution, which is the right to bear arms, and also against the 14th amendment, which is about equal protection. they say simply that anyone who is aged over 18 should have the right to have a gun, and they say it particularly discriminates against young women who, they say, are particularly unfairly treated by this particular act because, they say, they pose a low risk of being involved in violent crime. if you look at the optics, i guess, the way that all this appears, it would look — it would seem to me, kids one, nra nil. well, certainly what you are seeing over the last while is that you have a huge student body in that parkland area who have been affected themselves very personally by a school shooting in which 17 people died — 17 people who were pupils alongside them or members of that school staff — and they have told a powerful story. they have taken a campaign to the white house and they are planning a march before the end of this month notjust in washington, dc but in cities across america. and it is true they have a very,

very powerful voice and it comes with personal experience. however, at the same time, it is also worth reflecting that the national rifle association also has a very powerful voice in america. it has a huge amount of support and it also has a lot of political sway. although president trump last week said he wanted tighter gun laws, he also reflected that some members of his republican party were, in his view, scared of the nra. and maybe it's also worth reflecting that the day after he said he wanted tighter gun laws, he also met the national rifle association — that might also be an indication of their political sway. there are mixed messages coming from the white house about what conditions need to be met before president trump can meet the north korean leader, kim jong—un. in a tweet in the last hour mr trump said a deal is "very much in the making" and would be "a very good one for the world." earlier, his press secretary said there were conditions. we're not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words

and the rhetoric of north korea. the maximum pressure campaign has clearly been effective. it has potential members amount of pressure on north korea. they have made major promises. they have made promises to denuclearise, they have promised to stop missile testing. they have recognised that regular military tests —— exercises tween the artist dates and its ally, south korea, will continue. —— between a the united states. we are not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and rhetoric of north korea. the announcement of possible talks follows something of a thaw in relations between north and south korea, that saw them march under a single flag at the winter olympics. the south korean president, moonjae—in, says the planned meeting is "like a miracle." but how has the news gone down in the capital, seoul? laura bicker has been finding out. for months, seoul wondered

if it faced the prospect of war once again. today, it woke to better news. the prospect of a stunning trump—kim summit has turned an impending crisis into an opportunity. the horror of the korean war is not forgotten here. the fighting ended with no peace treaty. now, future generations hope these talks will prevent further confrontation. translation: i think this will be a turning point, and through this, our future children will benefit from living in a more free and peaceful world. translation: i think it is a good thing for both countries, and as a south korean citizen, it's good that the threat of war has reduced, even by a little. translation: even if things turn out well, it won't benefit the people in north korea. in the past, when the south korean president provided aid to north korea, i heard almost none

of it went to the common people. so i don't think it's going to turn out well. decades of distrust and suspicion divide north and south. people have learned that hope can be a bad thing. i'm told it is hard to tell what is real progress, and what is propaganda. a strong word of caution. the road ahead is very long, very complicated, very complex, and there's no guarantee that the north will ever give up its nuclear weapons easily, if at all. these talks are a huge political gamble. presidents moon and trump could be being played by pyongyang, or this peninsula could be on the verge of something it has been searching forfor nearly seven decades — a peace treaty. this statue portrays two brothers divided by the war, in a last, desperate embrace. there is a sense of cautious optimism that this unresolved conflict could now

have a happier ending. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. well, just before the korea announcement on thursday, president trump imposed stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, in the face of opposition from many in his own party and global allies. the european union has already threatened retaliation. harley—davidson motorcycles could be targeted, no small threat to a company that relies on europe for 16% of its sales. barbara plett—usher travelled to wisconsin, where the company is headquartered, to find out more. america's motorcycle, coming out of hibernation, clearing out winter cobwebs hibernation, clearing out winter co bwe bs for hibernation, clearing out winter cobwebs for the spring season. it has become an icon and sense harley—davidson first cultivated that counterculture bad boy image,

headquartered in a state which voted for trump. that is why the eu is targeting it. it is about a lifestyle, a brand which attracts a loyal following. still, lifestyle, a brand which attracts a loyalfollowing. still, domestic sales are down because they be burma customers are raging out, and millenials aren't buying big ickes. international sales are important. europe is an important market, and harley—davidson says any retaliatory tariff would have a significant impact. this is the monthly meeting of a harley—davidson club on the outskirts of milwaukee. there isn't much new blood here. everybody is talking about plans to mark the bike's 113th anniversary. news of a possible tariff war makes them uneasy, even those who want trump to stand up for america. uneasy, even those who want trump to stand up for americalj uneasy, even those who want trump to stand up for america. i think he should have better ideas. what do you mean? get rid of the tariffs. all it is going to do is jack up the price on soda, beer, aluminium products, cars, motorbikes. the european countries aren't going to

benefit by going after harley— davidson, it is just benefit by going after harley—davidson, it isjust going to make trump angry. and here's a little shortsighted sometimes. and, you know, he tweets too much. so we will end you know, he tweets too much. so we willend up you know, he tweets too much. so we will end up having a retaliatory response which isn't going to be good for anybody. what are you think of these tariffs that the eu is threatening to impose on harley—davidson. threatening to impose on harley-davidson. i'm glad that trump is even in the field, putting ta riffs is even in the field, putting tariffs on steel coming into the country. —— evening the field. so that our steel doesn't suffer. he has two level the playing field. but i don't want harley—davidson to suffer in the trade war. people who wa nt to suffer in the trade war. people who want to harley—davidson will get a harley—davidson, no matter what. want to harley—davidson will get a harley—davidson, no matterwhat. —— wa nt harley—davidson, no matterwhat. —— wanta. it harley—davidson, no matterwhat. —— want a. it is the ultimate prize motorcycle fan, and the eu has taken this road before, in a tariff war with george w bush. he backed down. but donald trump relishes the battle, which may yet take the shine

off the harley—davidson dream. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. a visit to the uk by the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salmanm, has ended with the promise of a massive arms deal. the saudis have agreed in principle to buy 48 fighter jets, in a controversial deal worth several billion dollars. the royal saudi air force is spearheading an air campaign to dislodge yemen's houthi rebels. the kenyan president, uhuru kenyatta, and the opposition leader, raila odinga, have met for the first time since last year's bitterly fought presidential election. at a joint news conference afterwards, mr kenyatta described his political rival as "his brother." he pledged to begin a process to bring the people together. mr odinga said it was time to resolve their differences. the opening ceremony of the winter paralympics has taken place in pyeongchang. north and south korea did not march together under a unification flag as they did at last

month's winter olympic opening ceremony, because they failed to agree on which version to use. competition starts on saturday, with 600 athletes from 42 countries taking part. an aid convoy has successfully unloaded its food supplies in the rebel held enclave of eastern ghouta in syria. it was the third attempt this week to get lorries into the area to help trapped civilians. the red cross says it hopes to get medical supplies into the area next week. so far they haven't been allowed. andrew plant reports. food supplies driven into eastern ghouta. on board, enough to feed 12,000 people in an area where 400,000 have been under siege since 2013. humanitarian groups say it is not nearly enough. many like abu kassem are fleeing their homes, taking only what they can. translation: our situation is catastrophic. have no clothes, no underwear, no food. we just have these sheep. we left everything behind. the aid is meant to reach civilians in eastern ghouta, a rebel enclave outside

the capital damascus. estimates are that around 940 people have died here since intense bombing began last month, 200 of them children. translation: we heard this aid convoy will arrive. this is not a solution. the solution is to stop the air strikes. we are bringing in food to eat but if people are dying, what use is that? some militants have been given permission to leave, syrian state tv here showing what it said were rebels and their families being driven away. hospitals and health centres have been destroyed in the bombing. doctors say a mass resupply of medicine is urgent. but the convoys can take in only food to prevent rebel fighters from accessing treatment.

meanwhile, it is thought there are around 700 civilians who are injured. a daily five—hour pause in fighting was agreed in principle last week but isn't sticking. translation: every day we liberate new areas, every day enemy fighters are collapsing. they don't have what it takes to face the men of the syrian arab army. there are reports that shelling resumed even as these aid trucks delivered theirfood on friday, the third time they have tried this week. the hope is more can get through in the coming days but only a break in the bombing will allow that to happen. andrew plant, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. become still to come, us troops on the streets of salisbury, including chemical warfare personnel. —— british troops. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times.

in less than 2a hours then the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years hisjunior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much do you think? i don't know really. i've never been married before. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: america's national rifle association is taking legal action against a gun safety bill in the state of florida, which was signed into law earlier. donald trump has tweeted that a deal with north korea is very much in the making. earlier, a white house official had cast doubt over a possible meeting between him and kimjong—un. britain has drafted in the military, following the nerve agent attack on a former russian spy and his daughter in the city of salisbury. they will help remove vehicles and objects from the scene which may have been contaminated. sergei and yulia skripal are still critically ill in hospital, while the policeman who tried to help them remains in a serious condition. tom symonds reports. it began with unprotected police officers dealing with an unexplained medical emergency. this evening, the military was called in at salisbury hospital. troops, trained to tackle chemical warfare, supporting a british police investigation.

their mission includes securing possibly contaminated evidence — painstaking work. in their investigations, through the work of military scientistsatf’ortorrfiowm we'll continue to do that. this police car may have been driven to the hospital after the incident. 180 troops will be involved in this phase of the investigation. they have all the chemical agent monitors, they have the personal protective equipment, respirators etc, that allow them to do this safely, and they'll probably take this kit to porton down or perhaps winterbourne gunner, where it can be decontaminated effectively. they are also expected to secure sergei skripal‘s car, and there are ambulances which may have traces of the nerve agent. across the city, scenes that might have come from a disaster movie.

this isjust a graveyard, but it contains the graves of sergei skripal‘s wife, and his son alexander. he died last year. again, no official explanation for all this. the dates on alexander's grave may be relevant. last week, before the nerve agent attack, was the anniversary of his birth. did his father and sister visit the grave at some point? sergei skripal remains in a critical condition, his daughter yulia the same, but she is responding better to treatment. salisbury has become a multi—location crime scene, a city of disturbing images, and unanswered questions. who wanted to kill them? why? how did they do it? what will happen next? tonight, the evidence is being gathered. tom symonds, bbc news, salisbury. the former us drug company executive martin shkreli, also known as ‘pharma bro', has been sentenced to seven years in jail for defrauding investors.

shkreli was ordered to pay a fine of $75,000, in addition to a previous order that he forfeit over $7 million. sophia tran—thomson has this report, and a warning — it contains some flash photography. martin shkreli's familiar smirk has been making headlines for years. he was dubbed the most hated man in america after his company raised the price of the life—saving aids drug daraprim by 5,000%, from $13 a pill to $750, in 2015. at the time, he said he was using the profits to develop other life—saving drugs. if there's a company that was selling an aston martin at the price of a bicycle, and we bought that company and we asked to charge toyota prices, i don't think that that should be a crime.

though the price hike had nothing to do with this trial. shkreli, who called himself a supervillain, was also indicted for securities fraud charges in 2015. and, in august last year, a jury found him guilty of defrauding investors in two hedge funds he ran, by sending them fake account statements and concealing huge losses. now, shkreli has officially been sentenced to seven years in jail for defrauding investors, and ordered to pay a $75,000 fine. that is on top of the $7.3 million he had already been ordered to pay following his conviction. a normally smug martin shkreli broke down in tears in court. his attorney, who had described him as a mildly autistic, self—taught genius, said the sentence was too long. i'm disappointed. i thought the sentence should have been less than seven years. but, you know, martin's fine,

and he will be fine, and obviously it could have been a lot worse. though the judge said it was justified because his crimes were not an isolated lapse injudgement, but a pattern of conduct. sophia tran—thomson, bbc news. now to colombia, where former members of the farc rebel group will be standing in parliamentary elections on sunday for the first time. their involvement in politics is part of the peace deal that was signed with the government in 2016, bringing more than 50 years of conflict to a close. but will colombians accept former guerrilla fighters in a political role? our south america correspondent katy watson reports. as campaigning draws to a close, it is time for celebration. this is the end of a very long journey, but people here hope it is also a new start, a fresh chapter in colombian

politics, after living most of their lives in a country at war. it is the same name but a different game. the fa rc have same name but a different game. the farc have laid down their weapons, swapping violence for votes. their objective still stands, though. i promised to fight poverty. translation: 453 years we have been fighting for changes in this country. we weren't allowed to be a pa rt country. we weren't allowed to be a part of the political system, so we had no choice but to take up arms. with the peace agreement, we left that behind. some of the farc supporters had travelled hours to watch these political newcomers speak. translation: most of us are peasant farmers, living in absolute poverty. we don't have a house or sta ble poverty. we don't have a house or stablejob, so poverty. we don't have a house or stable job, so we are here to support peace. the driving rain didn't stop the party. for the farc leader, used to live in the jungle, the weather was hardly a threat. the word fa rc the weather was hardly a threat. the word farc is so heavily associated with the country's conflict, few would ever imagine seeing former guerrilla fighters standing on stage and running as politicians. itjust shows how much colombia has changed

in the past few years. the peace deal brought to an end one of the longest running conflicts. the farc started life as a marxist inspired movement, demanding land rights. over half a century of fighting saw more than 200,000 people killed and millions displaced. the bombing of this social club in 2003 was one of the worst attacks. javier was a chef there and lost a leg in the explosion. 15 years later, and he is still in constant pain. he says he can't turn his back on what happened. his leg as a permanent reminder of the country's problems. and so the farc still has work to do to convince people they have changed. in the minds of the common colombian, the farc is still a terrorist group. it is not even a guerrilla group, that is... they are pa rt guerrilla group, that is... they are part of a terrorist organisation, they are members of a terrorist organisation. very many people that will be willing to reward the farc for having laid down their weapons,

they are not going to vote for them, because they are not seeing that justice has been served. in one of bogota's poorest slums, this former fighter, so ‘s residence there is no longer a place for weapons in politics. but reinvention won't be easy. the farc have plenty of doubters. their role in columbia's future is still uncertain. let's just show you these pictures of a massive fireworks display in mexico. the town of tultepec was celebrating the local saint. thousands of locals and visitors took to the streets for the celebration and danced among the fireworks, even though dozens of people were killed here last december in an explosion at a fireworks market. the town on the outskirts of mexico city bases its economy on pyrotechnics. i'm nkem ifejika.

hello there. very different feel to the weather this coming weekend. it looks like we'll see some very mild conditions for most of us, compared to what we had last weekend. a big area of low pressure moving up from the south—west, feeding in the mild air. but also a lot of cloud, and also quite a lot of rain, too. rain continues to move north during the overnight period. not really reaching the northern half of scotland, so here it will remain chilly. but much milder airfeeding into england and wales. by saturday morning, we're looking at 10—11 degrees the overnight low here. further north, again, cold across central and northern scotland, with some frost to start to the day. the weekend is looking mild, both saturday and sunday, for all of us. that mild air spreads into scotland as well. it will be cloudy with some rain at times. but, given some sunshine, that's where you really will feel

the mild weather. one front will be followed by another following later in the day. so quite a messy picture to start saturday. the rain will be lying across northern ireland, northern england, pushing north into scotland. a bit of snow over high ground as it encounters the cold air. central parts of the country will see a slice of dry weather before this next band of showery rain comes from the south. some of this could be quite heavy. for orkney and shetland here it will be a cool day. temperatures in single figures, with some sunshine. same, too, across the far north to scotland. through the afternoon, it will be turning much wetter for the scottish mainland into northern ireland and northern england as well. the showery band of rain will continue to move north. but notice the temperatures — 14—15 degrees, you could even see 16 celsius, given some prolonged sunny spells. now, the drier weather across the south—west will continue to advance northwards during saturday night. actually not a bad end to the night on saturday. into sunday, though, it looks like it'll be a bit of a cloudy, damp start. but there will be brightness across the northern half of the country.

further the south, we'll start to see some showers developing. some could be heavy, maybe even thundery. again, it could be mild. 12—13 degrees in the south, but even for scotland, double—figure values of ten or 11 celsius. lerwick, thiugh, still single figures. this is the pressure chart into monday. this area of pressure will bring some showery rain to the southern half of the country, fairly strong winds at times, too. so some heavy rain for england and wales. showery bursts. a little bit of brightness moving into the afternoon. the best of the dry and bright in northern ireland and parts of scotland. temperatures mild, double figures for most, with a high of 12 or 13 across the south. set to stay mild for most of the week. this is bbc news. the headlines: the american pro—gun lobby group, the national rifle association, has filed a federal lawsuit over gun control legislation that had just been signed into law in florida. the nra says the law, which raises the legal age to buy guns, violates the second amendment, the right to bear arms.

president trump has tweeted that a deal with north korea is, as he put it, "very much in the making." earlier his spokeswoman said a proposed meeting between the president and the north korean leader, kimjong—un, would not happen unless washington saw concrete steps or actions by pyongyang. an aid convoy has successfully unloaded its food supplies in the rebel—held enclave of eastern ghouta in syria. it was the third attempt this week to get lorries into the area to help trapped civilians. the red cross hopes to get medical supplies into the area next week. coming up injust over ten minutes on bbc news, it's newswatch. but first, it's time for click.