the headlines at 2. brenton tarrant, the main suspect in the new zealand mosque shootings in which 49 people were killed, has appeared in court on a single murder charge. new zealand police say they believe a lone gunman was involved in the attacks. prime ministerjacinda ar—dern has vowed: "our gun laws will change" new zealand is united in its grief and we are united in our grief. more than a0 people are injured and in hospital — as tributes are made in commemoration to those who have died. in other news — tory mp nick boles quits his local conservative association in the face of efforts to deselect him as the candidate. for the next election.

a leaked eu document appears to confirm that the uk will have to hold elections for the european parliament in may, if brexit is extended beyond the beginning ofjuly. it's the decider in the six nations — who will win? wales, england or ireland? and coming up in half an hour, trouble in the elephant sanctuary — a special programme on how poaching has provoked a political row over whether botswana has too many elephants. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. an australian man has appeared in court in new zealand charged with murder, after 49 people were killed in

shootings at two mosques in the city of christchurch yesterday. 28—year—old brenton tarrant did not enter a plea and has been remanded in custody. the prime minister of new zealand, jacinda ardern, has visited survivors of the attacks in hospital. she promised that gun laws will change. our correspondent sharanjit leyl sent this report. we stand as one. from flower tributes to hand written notes, the messages are clear. new zealand may be struggling to comprehend the tragic events that took place in christchurch, but people are determined to come together to pay their respects. this group of young men among them. one of them knew someone inside one of the mosques. your friend was shot in the leg? yeah, yeah. he went there for prayer. so, i don't know... so you knew people in the mosque? yeah. i even tried to call him yesterday and he couldn't take my call. christchurch has seen

tragedy like this before and is still rebuilding after a devastating earthquake eight years ago. that was mother nature at her worst. but this is a man—made one on a different scale. we had the earthquakes and the anxiety levels were at a high. and this triggered that same anxiety, people wanted to get home to see where their families were. their children, like caro said, at preschool. she had the children at preschool. like, people just wanted to get home. so it might take a wee while, but we will, yeah. memorials like this one have been springing up all over the city. people have been coming here to the botanical gardens in christchurch all day leaving their messages and flowers. there is a real sense of shock and horror at how something so awful could strike the heart of this community. new zealand's prime minister praised the efforts of police, and has called for a review of the countries gun laws

after it was revealed that the suspect legally obtained his weapon. new zealand is united in its grief. and we are united in our grief. and so i convey that message of love and support on behalf of new zealand. an australian man has appeared in court. 28—year—old brenton tarrant wasn't on any security watchlist. he didn't enter a plea and is due to appear in court next april the 5th. while the world awaits his fate, the outpouring of grief here will continue. but this is a resilient city that has seen tragedies like this before. and then, as now, the rallying cry in many messages of support is a maori phase that means, stay strong. sharanjit leyl, bbc news, christchurch. let's hear now from one of the people who survived the al noor mosque attack.

ali adeeba was in the moor mosque praying with his father and his twin brother when the shooting began. this is ali with his father, adeeb sami. adeeb was hit in the back while trying to protect his sons. he's now in hospital in a medically—induced coma. ali took the time to speak to my colleague krupa padhy, a little while ago, because he said he wanted the world to know what had happened. you may find some of what he has to say upsetting. it was just a normal friday. i was at prayers. i usually take an hour and a half lunch to go to prayers, and listen to the speech. so it was just straight after, the imam starts talking, and the speech begins. a few minutes after you hear gunshots. at the start i thought it was fireworks. and then i see people running. he started shooting.

my first thought was to run forward because he was coming from the back and i was looking for my dad. and so i ran and i stumbled across him and, honestly, i just don't remember after. i ended up on the right aisle of the mosque. i walked up to the second, and all i hear is the shooting. ——woke up in the second clip. i'm sorry to say, but i couldn't do anything and i was trying to stay safe so i had to do it. i was tensing all my muscles but with every shot my body never shook that hard. that kept going on and then a few months later it went quiet so i thought it was safe. i called 111 and then

i hear him coming back so i hang up and he started shooting on the pile on top of me and i couldn't do anything except lay there. he went four more times and after that it was all gone. i can hear you are so shaken, and my heart goes out to you, tell me how your father is. my father is in icu, he just had his second surgery and he is in a coma. he actually took a bullet for me. and thankfully i'm 0k. i was one of the few that walked out without a bullet in me. one went past my face and burned my face, didn't even touch me but it burned so i could only feel for the people that got shot by it.

i hope all the best for anyone that made it out into icu and hope they make a good recovery. and our best wishes goes out to all of them as well. we thank you for taking the time to speak to us at what is such a difficult time for you and your loved ones. we wish you all the very best, ali, thank you. the brother of one of the christchurch victims said he had "no words" to describe the family's pain of their loss. 50—year—old naeem rashid, and his 21—year—old son talha naeem were amongst six pakistani citizens killed in the attack. their brother has been speaking to our pakistan correspondent, secunder kermani. tell me, how long had your brother been living with his family in new zealand? he went to new zealand in 2010, so it's been nine years. so, he went to do his phd there,

he couldn't finish his phd but he did start working there, so he was doing his job there. and he liked living in new zealand? he loved living in new zealand, he just loved it. i've never been there myself but i believed it was supposed to be one of the safest places... i suppose that no one in the family could ever imagine something like this would ever happen? no, no way. we couldn't imagine it, not at all. how did you find out? well, my brother rang me about nine o'clock in the morning. i was not watching the television, somebody rang him. then we rang... one of my younger brother's brother—in—law also lives there in christchurch,

so we rang him and my sister—in—law. that's when we found out things were going bad. then, in the evening, we found out... and what was your reaction when you found out, if you can put it into words? there are no words, really. i can't really describe the feeling. we were just discussing... only a person who goes through this kind of thing can understand this thing. but i still... i feel really proud of my brother, really. i mean, the way he died, very few people... i mean, i wish i could die like him, really, dying like... he was a brave person, and i heard from people there, there were a few witnesses, and they said he saved a few lives there by trying to stop that guy. have you seen the video?

yes, i have seen the video, yes. and did you recognise your brother there? yes, idid. so, is there any element of consolation that's been taken from the fact that he's become this kind of hero now for so many people? i don't understand... does it bring you any kind of emotional relief to know that he... it does, actually. yes and no, i would say. because he left behind his wife and two young kids, the youngest kid is six, seven years old — i feel sorry for them. he himself was only 50 years old, six years younger than me. so, definitely, still a shock for us, really. still a shock, whatever hero he becomes, i mean... still pride, you know. but still, the loss is just like cutting your limb off, really, it's just like that.

our correspodent phil mercer is in christchurch — and has been giving us the latest. about 36 hours ago, and there was mass murder perpetrated at a building about 200 metres down the road. throughout the day, people here in christchurch and people around the country have been turning out at various videos, trying to make sense of what has been, in many eyes, a senseless attack. the emotions rage from disgust to dismay to disbelief. i think there is also the sense that new zealand could well be a very different country from here on in. once upon a time, new zealanders thought their country was a place at the bottom of the earth, far away from the world's trouble spots. but the atrocity perpetrated

here on friday means that new zealand has suffered, just like many other countries. new zealand has been looking to reform its gun laws for quite a few years now, but you'd have to say that the atrocity perpetrated here in christchurch will give the prime minister all the help she needs to push reform through. there was a story earlier today that the government was going to ban semiautomatic weapons, just the type of weapons allegedly used in this attack. miss ardern, the prime minister, will face some considerable opposition from the gun lobby here in new zealand. but you'd have to say, there is an overwhelming public appetite for gun laws in new zealand to change. well, meanwhile, an australian senator who blamed immigration for the mosque shooting in christchurch has attacked a teenager — who threw an egg at him while he was being interviewed. fraser anning hit

the 17—year—old before a short scuffle takes place between the two. the teenager was then restrained and arrested, but has since been released. a petition calling for senator anning to be removed from office following his comments has attracted nearly a quarter of a million signatures. the former minister, nick boles, has resigned from his local conservative association because of a rift over brexit. mr boles wants a closer relationship with europe and opposes a no—deal brexit. he'd been facing efforts by tory activists in his constituency in lincolnshire to oust him as the party's candidate at the next general election. with me is our political correspondent, susana mendonca. tell us more about the events that have fled to nick boles‘s decision to resign. brexit divisions are at the issue here because he is somebody who has

been very pro—eu, he campaigned for remain in 2016, is local constituency voted to leave and he favours a norway style relationship, and while he has voted to support the prime minister's withdrawal agreement, he is somebody who has a very much been involved in the parliamentary attempts to block no—deal brexit and extend article 50. that put him at odds with the local party so he wrote a letter where he said he is resigning with immediate effect from his local association because they did not share his values and he spoke about how he regrets the division that has emerged in the local party but a politician without principles was worthless. that was his reasoning for this but as we understand he wa nts to for this but as we understand he wants to remain a member of the conservative government, so he wants to carry on being an mp but it is not clear whether or not that's something he will be allowed to continue doing. what is the local conservative

association said? they have also written its own letter to the local members basically saying they think mr boles should take what they describe as the honourable course of action and resign his seat. they referred to it asa resign his seat. they referred to it as a betrayal of the local constituency party because the look constituency party because the look constituency party because the look constituency party is the people who selected them to beat their mp in the first place. we heard from matthew lee, association member, who said mr boles‘ assessment of them as not sharing his values are not reflective of how they really are. the view that nick seems to be portraying of our association is that we are all against him, that we are all hard brexiteers — and it isjust not true. i mean, the last meeting of our executive management committee — many people, including me, spoke in nick's favour. we are not all against him, there are some people that disagree with him, but in any family, any group, there are always different views. you try to come together, though, and you move on as a unit.

we are just at a loss to understand why nick thinks we are all against him, because that isjust not true. so that's the view of the local conservative association, what is the wider concern —— my conservative parliamentary party had to say. the national party has not released a statement. what nick boles said in his resignation letter was he would continue to be a conservative if the conservative whip is offered to him on acceptable terms, we do not know if he is in discussions about what terms he might be talking about. we heard from julian smith the chief whip who said mr boles was a valued member of the conservative parliamentary party and hoped he would continue to benefit from the ideas and drive nick boles has shown. so he is well respected and we will wait and see what happens in terms of whether he has to leave the party nationally or not but these

local divisions in the conservative party are a problem for the party, not just for party are a problem for the party, notjust for nick boles, but these issues are happening all over the country, where the mp perhaps not having the same view as some of those within the local party. we have got a key week ahead because we expect another meaningful vote when mps will be asked to vote for theresa may's deal again. went back for now, thank you very much. a leaked eu document appears to confirm that the uk will have to take part in european parliament elections in may, if brexit is extended beyond the end ofjune. the memo has been circulated to eu ambassadors ahead of theresa may's visit to brussels on thursday, where she will ask eu leaders to delay brexit. the uk is presently due to leave the eu on march 29th. the department for transport may be forced to pay tens of millions of pounds to keep its emergency

"no—deal" ferry contracts in place if brexit is delayed. one of the firms involved, brittany ferries, said it had already incurred large fuel and staffing costs, for which it would have to be compensated. a whitehall source said the contingency plans had to be in place for the original brexit date of march 29th. the headlines on bbc news. brenton tarrant, the main suspect in the new zealand mosque shootings in which 49 people were killed, has appeared in court on a single murder charge. new zealand police say they believe a lone gunman was involved in the attacks. prime ministerjacinda ardern has vowed — "our gun laws will change". in other news — tory mp nick boles quits his local conservative association in the face of efforts to deselect him as the candidate for the next election.

a man has died after being stabbed in south—west london. scotland yard said officers were called to reports of a fight in fulham in the early hours of this morning. a 29—year old man was pronounced dead at the scene. there have been no arrests. violence has broken out on the streets of paris as protesters clash with police. demonstrators are said to have thrown smoke bombs and other objects at officers. police then used water cannon to try to disperse crowds. at least 20 people have reportedly been arrested. it's the 18th straight weekend of demonstrations against president emmanuel macron which first started over a fuel tax rise and have now become about the cost of living. senior democrats in the us congress have accused donald trump of defying the constitution after he used a presidential veto for the first time since he came to offfice.

mr trump vetoed a resolution from congress which was designed to block his declaration of a state of emergency on the border with mexico. he declared the national emergency last month, to try to secure billions of dollars for building a border wall. president trump said he had a duty to use his veto power in order to protect americans. congress's vote to deny the crisis on the southern border is a vote against reality. it is against reality. it is a tremendous national emergency, it is a tremendous crisis. last month, more than 76,000 illegal migrants arrived at our border. we are on track for1 million illegal aliens to rush our borders. people hate the word invasion but that is what it is. it is an invasion of drugs and criminals and people. studies show the stress and pain experienced by very premature babies, can go on to cause mental

and physical illness later in life. aberdeen maternity hospital is preparing to trial pioneering techniques that could reduce that trauma. our correspondent laura goodwin has been to take a look. twins willow and niamh were born atjust 26 weeks weighing a little over 2le each. for mum zoe the first few months of motherhood in the neonatal ward were bewildering and at times frightening. there has been times i've thought one or two of the girls wasn't coming home. the past couple of weeks is when i have started to feel like a mum because i can go and pick up my own baby. i didn't realise how important that is until you can't do it. now aberdeen neonatal unit are trialling a new approach they hope will minimise the trauma of painful but necessary medical procedures for babies and to show parents how they can help. you could be that other pair of hands and provide this kind of containment.

friends of the neonatal unit raised £27,000 to bring mary coughlin, a neonatal expert from boston, to pass on the techniques that she has pioneered. two person care is basically one person is doing the procedure and the other person, their sole job is to make sure the baby is comfortable. the gold standard for the two—person approach is that other person, that comfort person, is the parent or a family member. there's lots of things that happen to these little people and their families that it's just an is thing, right? i mean, they are critically ill, they need the equipment, they need the procedures and stuff. but it's how we manage those experiences that can really reduce their short—term and long—term morbidity or complications as a result. it's the smaller things, the littlest things make the biggest difference. like a parent just talking to their baby whilst having a painful procedure done. we might not have thought about it, it could be as simple as that. so really the parents being here and comforting their baby

has been a huge eye—opener for us. baby ella was born eight weeks early, her mum says empowering parents to help their babies is hugely important. obviously you feel a bit helpless if they are crying and she was in an incubator so there's not much comforting you can do. so anything you can do to help, you want to do it. willow, nieve and ella are all making good progress and will be heading home soon. aberdeen neonatal unit hope adopting these new techniques will position them as a centre of excellence for neonatal care and ensure many more little miracles are given every chance to thrive. laura goodwin, bbc news. all this week, the bbc has been taking a look at life in bradford. it's a city where reading and writing skills are below average, across every age range. sabbiyah pervez has been to see how the city is trying to improve its literacy levels.

the gift of a book, arriving through the post every month from a charity aiming to improve literacy here in bradford. a little boy is testing out his brand—new car... each story these children read are building blocks for their imagination and vocabulary. there is a shark in the park! their mum grew up in pakistan. her parents didn't read to her, but storytime is now a stable part of her life. when i started getting the books from imagination library, then to see how good the books are and somebodyjust giving me these really good gifts, so then i started reading regularly. in bradford, three in every ten five to seven—year—olds do not reach the expected meeting standards. this is below the national average. there are a number of issues linked to poverty and which sort of present themselves intergenerationally, so why would you blame the child

in those circumstances to believe that reading, writing, doing well at school aren't going to make any difference to them because it didn't make a difference to their parents and grandparents? at this school, in a bid to boost literacy and aspirations, pupils are partnered up with mentors, who read to them via the internet. it's rewarding for me because i am helping a child learn how to read and it's seeing her improvement. at school, i enjoyed reading and helping a child read and developing their reading skills, it is very rewarding. for the past five months, ana maria and nasim have been reading together. this is the first time they're reading side—by—side. well done. there are still huge challenges with literacy in bradford, but the future of the students here has yet to be written, and with help, it can only be improved. sabbiyah pervez, bbc news.

a number of train lines have been affected by flooding across northern england. the lines, including in manchester, huddersfield and liverpool, are seeing severe delays, alterations and disruption due to heavy rainfall throughout the region. train lines affected by flooding in northern england manchester victoria and huddersfield — both directions to due to heavy rain flooding the line. goats are known to be curious. they can clamber along narrow mountain ledges inaccessible to humans. but there's no record — of a goat exploring the world by tram. and yet, yesterday a goatjoined commuters on their way to work in manchester. she was 25 miles from home. how did she get there? stuart flinders has been trying to find out. they must be used to some strange sights at the train station, a goat

joins commuters waiting for the camera nobody bats an eyelid. —— waiting for the tram. we had a call saying there was a goat on the train platform. 50 we had a call saying there was a goat on the train platform. so you came down here? julie is a metrolink troubleshooter, you could see she - goat—to you could see she is there goat—to women. i put this makeshift lead around her neck. whites might how did they go to get here? you it is a mystery. we checked our cctv and have not find out. within hours the goats was on its way home, it is called bell and she has been missing from a farm near saddleworth 25 miles away since sunday. lo and behold she turns up at the tram stop waiting to come home!

it was wonderful, her brother jingles, and her half brother billy both head—butted, it was like a triple head back together because they were so happy to see each other. the question is how did she get here? did she travel by tram and did she pay the full fare or pass herself off as a kid? the tram operators are taking a fairly lenient view and see there is no view of her being baared from the system. but for now, her travelling days are over. let's catch up with all the weather 110w let's catch up with all the weather now with the match. snow has caused issues across scotland but that's only one of the weather elements causing problems. strong winds through england and

wales today which lead to travel problems and some minor damage. keep listening to bbc radio four latest travel information. this low pressure spreading west to east. scotla nd pressure spreading west to east. scotland and northern ireland will see a cold day with snow turning to rain in southern scotland, snow is still across the higher ground in central and northern areas, ten centimetres or more. brighter spells to the north of scotland with showers did this afternoon in northern ireland, sometimes heavy. for england and wales, fairly cloudy, some brightness to the south and east persistent rain west of the pennines and into wales which could cause minor flooding and for eve ryo ne cause minor flooding and for everyone it is very windy and gusts between a0 and 60 mph. some travel problems and even some minor damage, the odd