this is bbc news, the headlines: new zealand's prime ministerjacinda ardern has opened a book of condolence for victims welcome to bbc news — of the christchurch attacks, broadcasting to viewers in north america writing "together we and around the globe. are one, they are us". my name is reged ahmad. her cabinet is meeting to look our top stories: at ways of changing the country's gun laws following the mass shooting new zealand's prime minister opens that left fifty people dead. a book of condolence for victims of the christchurch attacks — writing "together we are one. counter—terrorism police have raided they are us". two homes in australia she's been discussing changes where the suspect, to the country's gun laws with her cabinet. brenton tarrant, grew up. his family have said they're devastated and apologised to the relatives of those killed and wounded. what the public rightly are asking he's been charged with murder right now is why is it and how is it in connection with the shootings. that you should and are currently ethiopia's transport minister has said that flight data recovered able to purchase military style from the ethiopian airlines semiautomatic weapons disaster suggest "clear similarities" with a crash off indonesia in october last year. in new zealand. meanwhile, memorialservices to remember the 157 victims have been held in addis the owner of new zealand's biggest gun shop says his staff sold four guns to the alleged attacker — but not the semi—automatic weapon used. ababa and nairobi. he said he felt no responsibility for the shooting. as counter—terrorism police raid two

homes in australia — where the suspect, brenton tarrant, grew up — his family say they're devastated. we're so sorry for the families over there. for the dead and the injured. we can't think of anything else. just want to go home and hide. and in other news, ethiopia says flight data from the ethiopian airlines disaster shows "clear similarities" with the lionair crash last october. hello and welcome to bbc news. we wa nt we want to bring you these live pictures from christchurch in new zealand where we have been seeing high school and college students

holding a vigil at al noor mosque. it is the end of the school day there in new zealand and you can see many young people there, college and high school students gathering for a vigil at one of the mosques that was targeted by the gunman. of course since the attack on friday there have been many vigils and many flowers being left at the sight of the attacks. many people leave notes and the attacks. many people leave notes a nd flowers the attacks. many people leave notes and flowers and we are seeing pictures of people coming and standing of those sites and gazing at all the tributes and standing quietly, thinking about what happened. here you have a number of couege happened. here you have a number of college and high school students gathering their two just remember the victims of those terror attacks. that happened in two mosques on friday. we have been hearing as well from community leaders, from the muzzle community as well, about how

much they have felt supported and how much love they felt from the community in new zealand. —— from the muslim community. the investigation into the shootings at two mosques in new zealand has seen counter terrorism officers carry out two raids in australia, where the man arrested for the killings — brenton tarrant — grew up. police said: "the primary aim of the activity is to formally obtain material that may assist new zealand police in their ongoing investigation" and that the family of the australian man arrested in christchurch "continues to assist police with their inquiries." speaking to media, australian authorities confirmed brenton tarrant spent only 45 days in australia over the past three years and was not on any terror watch lists. in new zealand, a teenagerfaces14 years prison after being accused of distributing video of the deadly attack. meantime, prime ministerjacinda

ardern signed a book of condolences before she held a cabinet meeting on new gun control laws. speaking on national tv, ms ardern said she was determined to change the law and take military style weapons out of circulation. i have some initial proposals for cabinet to discuss. i do not want to pre—empt that discussion but i can assure you that our gun laws will change. i know that there is understandably both grief and anger in new zealand. there are questions that need to be answered and that we are looking for is well. we need to provide assurances to the public that everything that could have been done has been done but whether or not more could and should have been done. we will be putting in place what needs to occur to answer those questions. there are ways we can bring in effective regulation of firearms that actually target those who we need to target and that is our focus.

what the public rightly are asking right now is why is it and how is it that you should and are currently able to purchase military style semiautomatic weapons in new zealand. that is the right question to ask. i think i am feeling exactly the same way that all new zealanders feel at the moment. everyone is grieving and i grieve with them. but i also have a important job to do. i need to make sure we are looking after those affected, that they have ongoing care and support, not just in the coming days but in the months and years. and that is why i am incredibly focused. i have a job to do. and that was the prime minister of new zealand there. the managing director of new zealand's largest gun retailer — david tipple — confirmed a short time ago that the alleged gunman purchased four weapons online from his company, but not the assault rifle reportedly used in the massacre.

mr tipple refused to engage in any gun law debate but said he would support legislative changes made by the prime minister. we detected nothing extraordinary about the license holder. the military style semiauto reportedly used by the alleged gunman was not purchased from us. we did not sell him that weapon, only a category firearms. i and gun city fully support the prime minister's swift and decisive actions following this tragedy. the community in christchurch has come together in the wake of the events here. schools will reopen with special counsellors on hand, to help children and teachers traumatised by the attack. and as the country has begun to come to terms with the massacre, tales of heroism, suffering and incredible grace have began to emerge.

a police helicopter surveys a scene of mass murder below. while on the ground nearby, an armed response stands ready just in case. members of christchurch's muslim community are gathering to volunteer. they must care for children now orphaned, help feed families that no longer have breadwinners. they must organise the burials of the dead. all this pain because of 30 minutes of madness. everyone was frightened. many caught up in the violence recorded the aftermath on their phones to bear witness. abdul aziz was in the linwood mosque. he was next to my 11—year—old son. so, that dead man there? yeah, because he shot him through the window. and he was standing next to your son? yeah. his four children were praying at the time. they survived. abdul aziz tried to tackle the killer.

when i ran outside i saw two dead bodies on the floor and i saw one man with army clothes near his car and i yelled at him. i said, "who are you?" and i swore at him. i knew he wasn't an army person, or something. so he was dressed in army fatigues, army clothing? yeah, army clothing, everything army. he drops his gun there and runs to his car. when he runs to his car, he saw i was chasing him with his own rifle, with his own shotguns. that he'd discarded 7 yeah, he discarded them on the floor. ijust threw the shotgun on his car windows and smashed his window and at that time he got a bit frightened. the murderer got away, his twisted thoughts made real. it's believed abdul aziz‘s courage in taking on the killer helped save lives. one ray of brightness on a dark day.

my colleague clive myrie has been speaking to the mayor of christchurch lianne dalziel. it has been this real disbelief that this could happen here in christchurch. i think the reality is we were chosen for a reason, we are a safe city and a safe country, and that is why this happened here. i am not going to give voice to the hatred and the expressions that seem to be the motives behind this. but i am pleased to see city leaders around the world standing up against islamophobia, standing up against racism, standing up against all of those things that drive this form of hatred, at the extreme end. this is an extremist act. i have spoken to many in the muslim community here over the last couple

of days and they say that what happened does not reflect the attitudes of the vast majority of people, not just in christchurch but across the country? that's right. i have been visiting with some of the family members, and they have been using words, like, "in all the time that i have lived here," and people have lived here for years, they have said, you know, "not one word has come from lips to say to me in a bad way anything." and that, to me, was a very powerful expression. i know that's not universal because there are people in the world who don't treat people as equals, but i think that what has happened here, and you can see it in the tributes behind me, is that there is this overwhelming outpouring of love and support and compassion and kindness, and i think those are the qualities that so many of our muslim brothers and sisters, that's what they see in everyday life, and they have seen it expressed here today.

what is yourjob in trying to bring this community together, to heal it after this trauma ? i think it's really important that people focus on what got us through our experience of the earthquakes, which is neighbours coming together and supporting each other, communities coming together and supporting each other, and i think that is going to be really important too. there is an expression, and i presume it's universal, you start the day when you meet somebody. you greet them with the words, how are you? that's got really special meaning and i think what is really important is that when somebody says, well, when you say to someone, how are you, then you have to stop and listen for the answer. because some people will be doing this very hard, especially in the wake of our previous experience, and we need to be there to support people when that

answer comes, that they are looking for help. let's bring you these live pictures from christchurch, new zealand. a number of high school and college stu d e nts a number of high school and college students holding a vigil at al noor mosque. we will start in the middle and start expanding. let's begin. just to clarify, we will have everybody sitting down and we will be passing it on. just watching a vigil of a number of high school stu d e nts vigil of a number of high school students and college students who have been lighting candles. they are holding the vigil at al noor mosque where, but was one of the mosques targeted by the attacker. you can see a candle being lit there. no doubt in remembrance of the 50

victims of the attack on two mosques on friday. they have been described as terror attacks by many leaders around the world and, of course, the new zealand prime minister as well. since then there has been a huge outpouring of grief and support from members of the christchurch community and people around new zealand as well. the big conversation has been around gun control and the new zealand prime minister has been meeting with her cabinet to talk about what she wants to do about that. how she may wish to do about that. how she may wish to change gun control. we expect her to change gun control. we expect her to provide a news conference and an update on that shortly, perhaps in the next hour were. and we will bring you that life when it does happen, here on bbc news. right now

we arejust happen, here on bbc news. right now we are just watching a number of stu d e nts we are just watching a number of students holding a vigil. they are lighting a candle in remembrance for those who have died in those attacks. don't forget, there is a lot of background on our website as well about the developments on the investigation. all of that supporters world that we have been seeing coming from new zealand. it is all on our website or you can download the bbc news app. let's get some other news now. ethiopia's transport minister has said that flight data recovered from the ethiopian airlines disaster, suggest clear similarities with a crash off indonesia in october last year. meanwhile, memorialservices to remember the victims were held today in addis ababa and nairobi. diplomats, relatives and worshippers prayed for the 157 passengers who died in the crash last sunday. the bbc‘s ferdinand omondi reports. ababa it was a sombre mood

inside the ethiopian orthodox church in nairobi. it has been a difficult week for many of them, from learning about the plane crash to absorbing the tragedy of the loss. several governments sent their representatives to mourn with the bereaved — from neighbouring countries to as far away as russia. passengers from more than 30 countries were on board the ethiopian airlines flight from addis ababa to nairobi. in ethiopia, similar memorial ceremonies were held. relatives wept and threw themselves on the coffins of victims at the holy trinity cathedral in the capital, addis ababa. some of the coffins contained charred earth from the crash site, because it has not been possible to recover the bodies. families have been told it would take up to six months to identify the remains. translation: what makes us depressed is the fact we didn't find any of her body parts. she was very brilliant, hope and future for her family and country.

translation: she was very kind to people. i don't know how to describe her. we are broken and bruised deeply. it's very difficult to speak. these people do not yet know why the plane carrying their loved ones crashed so tragically. it may take a while to get the answers. the ethiopian government has said the investigations into the crash will take time. ferdinand omondi, bbc news, nairobi. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: flash flooding in the indonesian province of papua kills more than 70 people, as landslides hamper rescue efforts. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected.

nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. this was an international trophy and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news. the latest headlines:

new zealand's prime minister has opened a book of condolence for victims of the christchurch attacks, writing: "together we are one. they are us". she's been discussing tightening gun laws with her cabinet. counter—terrorism police have raided two homes in australia, where the suspect, brenton tarrant, grew up. his family say they're devastated by the attack. rescue workers in papua province in indonesia have rescued a five—month—old baby, trapped for hours in the rubble of a collapsed building after flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain swept through the region. at least 73 people have been killed across the province. many areas still remain inaccessible as rescue teams are struggling to search for survivors. nga pham has more. they don't know his name, but his rescue was a small miracle. the baby was pulled out alive after being trapped for six hours under the damaged house of his parents. their whereabouts are unknown.

the army has been mobilised to join the search and rescue efforts in the town of sentani, near the provincial capital jayapura. they are battling mud, rocks and fallen trees, looking for survivors. the death toll, however, is expected to rise. more than 4,000 people have been evacuated from the affected areas. heavy torrential rain caused flash floods and landslides late on saturday. hundreds of houses and three bridges were badly damaged by the floods. the government has announced a 14—day state of emergency in papua. flooding is common in indonesia, especially during the rainy season from october to april. officials have warned that widespread deforestation is aggravating the risk of floods.

a commander of the kurdish forces fighting islamic state militants in their last stronghold in eastern syria has told the bbc their operation has been prolonged to protect civilians. although tens of thousands of people have fled the enclave in the last two months, it's thought there are still large numbers of civilians inside. our correspondent aleem maqbool reports from the frontline in baghouz. in baghouz, the final battle ground, is fighters have been blasted into retreat, building by building. they've been rained on by missiles, from the us—led coalition. but we're taken right to the front line, through the desolation, by the local forces on the ground, still in combat with them. so, these positions here

were occupied by islamic state group fighters in just the last few days, they've been beaten back. their ever shrinking so—called caliphate state is nowjust a small area just around the corner of this building. if you peep around the corner, you can see the buildings they still occupy. but even though... even though they've been bombarded and pushed back and given lots of opportunities to surrender, it's very clear that there are some fighters who just won't lay down their arms. we got a sense of the squalor in which the is fighters and theirfamilies have been living, before they were forced on. the pitiful remnants of a new territory that attracted thousands from around the world and brutalised so many others. everywhere was evidence of the battle that raged here. even explosives the militants never had the chance to deploy.

with local forces, we went to a point where we could see movement and activity in what remains of the is camp. we saw militants in the tiny domain and riding motorbikes but we also saw families and young children. a kurdish commander told us he feared they were also still hostages being held inside the besieged camp. these men still go out in shifts of the front line and keep giving is fighters chances to surrender. there, one kurdish commander, who didn't want to be shown, told us he thought there were more than just militants there. aleem maqbool, bbc news in baghouz, in syria. police in serbia have used teargas against anti—government protesters who surrounded the presidential building in the capital, belgrade. it marks an intensification in opposition demonstrations, which have been taking place

for a number of months in the balkan state. caroline rigby, has more. the message was clear. thousands gathered outside the presidential palace in belgrade to demand the resignation of serbia's president and his allies. at times using force, they clashed with police. inside, the president made a defiant address in an effort to demonstrate his control. although rather than being broadcast on state tv, his message was posted on instagram. translation: dear citizens of serbia, i am forced to address you in this way. especially to the thousands and millions of people who are worried about the situation in our country. to all of you who defy the pressure of the fascist to want to ruin our country. as you can see, i am still at my workplace in the presidency building. i am not going to flee anywhere. but serbia's premier is under mounting pressure as calls

for fairer elections and greater media freedom grow louder. on saturday, ten protesters were detained after forcing their way into the state television building. the break—in marked an intensification in the protests that began in november and have, until now, remained largely peaceful. but some fear the movement is changing. because, alongside the students, actors and centrist politicians, the leader of an extreme right wing party has become a prominent voice. translation: we demand resignation of alexander vucic. we want a free election and before that, a minimum of 6—9 months of media freedom. these are our demands and we will not back down. we will not retreat. president vucic insists he is not afraid but after months of protest which appear only to be gaining momentum, some will question how long he can remain in charge.

we just want to return you to our top story. those mosque attacks, terror attacks in new zealand. there's been many moving tributes to victims in christchurch since the attack on friday and here's a distinctly kiwi one from the area's young people. this is a group of local high school students performing the haka for shooting victims. the haka is a ceremonial dance in maori culture. students also left flowers and held a minutes silence. let's bring you these live pictures from christchurch, new zealand.

we believe about 3000 people have appeared to remember the victims of the terror attacks. stay with bbc news. hello. it's been a weekend of wild weather. we've seen heavy snowfall, heavy rain that's been causing some flooding across parts of england and wales. strong winds, particularly on saturday. by sunday it was a day of sunshine and showers. now this was the scene in dover, in kent. we had some huge shower clouds. equally, some blue sky and some gusty winds around. so all in all, some very unsettled weather. but the weather is now settling down. as we head on into monday we've got this high pressure building in from the south—west. still some weather fronts trying to move in towards the north—west of the country. so it won't be dry across the board. but, really, through this week we're looking at a much drier weather picture. less windy. i think you'll be be pleased to hear that things will be turning a little bit milder, too. although it is going to be quite a chilly start to monday. this is dawn. and you can see those temperatures will be subzero in the east for some areas. could be a touch of frost, even down

towards the south—east of england. cloudier skies in the west, so temperatures not as low first thing here. and with that cloud in the west there will be a bit of patchy rain on monday across northern ireland, western scotland, and western fringes of england and wales. further east, you're likely to stay dry through the day with some sunny spells, a bit more cloud building during the afternoon. temperatures on monday still not great for the time of year. but a degree or so warmer than we have seen in recent days. 8—12 degrees or so. but at least we've lost that wind chill we've seen recently. looking further ahead through monday evening and overnight into tuesday, again we've got quite a lot of cloud around. could be the odd clearer spell, allowing those temperatures to dip just down into a touch of frost here and there. but for most of us it's looking reasonably mild moving through into tuesday. and a mostly dry start to the day. you may notice a bit of blue on the map. a few spots of rain across parts of northern ireland, scotland, perhaps into wales, too. that is courtesy of this weather system, it's a warm front that tries to move on from the west on tuesday. a fairly weak affair.

and it bumps into the higher pressure that's holding on towards the south. and quite a bit of cloud around. not a bad day on tuesday. a little light rain for scotland and perhaps in the irish sea coasts. towards the south and east is where you're likely to stay dry throughout the day. top temperatures around about 12—14 degrees or so. not bad for the time of year. through the middle of the week, wednesday, the spring equinox. it does look largely settled and dry. there'll be a bit of sunshine breaking through the cloud. it should be generally reasonably mild. so temperatures widely up to 13—14 degrees. in the warmest spots we could see highs up to 16—17 celsius. so gradually things are warming up a little as we head through the week. towards the end of the week, sunnier spells and it's looking much less windy than it has over the past week or so. bye for now.