this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the prime minister of new zealand has announced a ban on the sale of assault rifles and semi—automatics, a response to the christchurch terror attack that killed 50 people in two mosques. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. she said the ban was expected to go our top stories: through parliament and be in place by april 11. she also announced interim measures, effective immediately, in the past hour, to prevent a rush a major policy change of sales before then. from new zealand's prime minister — the british prime minister blames parliament for delaying a dramatic response to friday's gun brexit and said she is on the side attack on two mosques. of the british people, who she says are tired of the whole process. she's now asked the eu to extend today i am announcing that new the leaving date to the end ofjune. rescue teams are still struggling to reach survivors a week zealand will ban all military style semi—automatic weapons. we will also after cyclone idai hit south—eastern africa. aid workers say thousands are still desperate for help. hundreds are feared to have died. ban all sold rifles. —— assault rifles. theresa may blames parliament for the brexit delay and claims she's on the side of the british people she says are "tired of the whole process." rescue teams are still struggling to reach survivors, a week after cyclone idai hit south—east africa. hundreds are feared dead.

disturbing images of weight loss that glamourise eating disorders swapped by children on the social media platform instagram, a bbc investigation discovers. within the past hour new zealand's prime ministerjacinda ardern has announced sweeping changes to the country's gun laws, banning all military—style semi—automatic weapons and all assault rifles. also banned, parts that would modify guns into military—style semi—automatics. all this in response to last week's attacks on two mosques in christchurch, which left 50 people dead. here is the prime minister. today i am announcing new zealand will ban all military style semi—automatic weapons. we will also

ban all assault rifles. we will ban all high—capacity magazines. we will ban all parts with the ability to convert semi—automatic or any other type of firearm into a military style semi—automatic weapon. we will ban parts that cause a firearm to generate semi—automatic, automatic oi’ generate semi—automatic, automatic or close to automatic gunfire. in short, every semi—automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on friday will be banned in this country. these changes will require legislation. that legislation is now being drafted and will be introduced under urgency. a shortened select committee process will apply, so i encourage all those who wish to submit to start now. my expectation is that of the law will be in place by the end of the next two weeks

sitting session. which is by the 11th of april. prime minister jacinda ardern there. our correspondent phil mercer is in christchurch. the prime minister of course making the point that the terrible damage that was done on friday was done primarily with two guns, assault rifles purchased legally on a standard license in new zealand, modified illegally but very easy to turn them into military grade, and this is the response? yeah, what we are seeing now is all of the firearms used in last friday's attacks will be banned. all military style semi—automatic weapons and also assault rifles will be out lord's —— outlawed within three weeks. in the meantime there will be interim measures put in place by the government to stop a run on people buying those prescribed guns. the prime minister, jacinda ardern, as you say, speaking here in new zealand in the past hour, saying

that these measures, very strict measures, will in her words prevent an act of terror. so there seems to be broad support among the new zealand population. earlier today and he's received a position —— petition with about 65,000 signatures calling for a ban on semi—automatic weapons. —— earlier today mps received. there may be some opposition, but we get the sense here they will be a vast swell of support for the prime minister's reforms. we were carrying that press conference live. did she not say that all people who currently possess military style assault weapons will be required to register via a website, and those weapons will then be seized by police and destroyed 7 will then be seized by police and destroyed? there will be a buyback, but did she really give a figure that it could cost between $100 million and $200 million? that's right. she said she couldn't put her finger on the precise figure, but it could be as much as $200 million. she said that was a price worth

paying for the community's safety. what will happen is that gun owners, they are not being asked to take their firearms to the police in person. what they are being asked to do is, in the next couple of days, register online. they will be a compensation scheme, they will be an amnesty, and many of these changes mirror what happened in australia following the 1996 port arthur massacre, in which a lone gunman killed 35 people, and there was academic research last year in australia suggesting that australia's stricter gun laws had almost certainly prevented more mass shootings, so the new zealand government is very much hoping that will be via fax to you. very briefly, i know she said this is just the start of the government's effo rts just the start of the government's efforts to reform gun laws in new zealand. do you have any sense of what else is in the pipeline? part of the problem with new zealand's gun laws, as they stood at this time last week, is that you had to be 16

to own a firearm, or 18 to a semi—automatic military style weapon. but part of the problem was that for the vast majority of firearms there was no registry. you had to have a license to have a gun, but you didn't have to register individual firearms. but you didn't have to register individualfirearms. so but you didn't have to register individual firearms. so the but you didn't have to register individualfirearms. so the prime minister was saying, when it comes to these military style semi—automatic weapons and assault rifles, they simply don't know how many of these weapons are out there. so that will be addressed in what the prime minister says was a second tranche of reforms, relating to the licensing and registering of firearms here. phil, thank you. now to the story that has been consuming so much attention in the uk and in europe for the past few yea rs. britain's prime minister has blamed members of parliament for not delivering brexit on time. in a televised speech, theresa may claimed she was on the side of the british people, who she said were tired of the whole process and just wanted out

of the european union. the uk is currently set to leave injust over a week, with no withdrawal deal approved by parliament. mrs may has asked brussels to delay brexit, but indications from eu officials are that a delay will only be granted if she can get her deal through parliament. and her speech has infuriated many of the mps she needs to pass it. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg reports. what is really going on in there? grappling with what officialdom admits is a genuine crisis for the country. the prime minister's statement asking to delay brexit delayed slightly itself. then what felt like a solitary moment, but aimed at us all. this delay is a matter of great personal regret for me. and of this, i am absolutely sure — you, the public, have had enough. you're tired of the infighting, you're tired of the political games and the arcane procedural rows, tired of mps talking about nothing else but brexit. i passionately hope mps will find

a way to back the deal i've negotiated with the eu, a deal that delivers on the result of the referendum and is the very best deal negotiable. two former ministers immediately chose the word "delusional" to describe her statement as she walked away. and even before her podium moment, the eu had been on their own platform, saying yes to a short delay, but with a big if. i believe that a short extension will be possible, but it will be conditional on a positive vote on the withdrawal agreement in the house of commons. the cabinet's not even united on how to press pause. they clashed over how long the country ought to wait for brexit. with her top team at odds, what hope does the prime minister have of getting parliament on side? this place voted for delay, but not her version.

as prime minister, as prime minister, i am... order! i am not prepared to delay brexit any further than the 30th ofjune. at moments today, a struggle to keep grip. the outcome of a long extension would be endless hours and days of this house... ..of this house carrying on contemplating its navel on europe and failing to address the issues that matter to our constituents. thishhouse has indulged itself on europe for too long. that provoked calls of "resign". she was furious, but so were they. people, mr speaker, all over this country, are anxious and frustrated with this government's utter inability to find a way through the crisis. if the prime minister cannot get changes to her deal, will she give the people a chance to reject the deal and change the government? in the national interest, i beg this prime minister to think again.

yet, brexiteer troops pulling her in the other direction, saying leave next week, whatever. prime minister, it is entirely down to you. history willjudge you at this moment. prime minister, which is it to be? she has failed, and i think that there are now big question marks as to whether she should be allowed to carry on, and see whether she can dojune 30, because there are a growing number of people who think it's time to move on. i have never felt more ashamed to be a member of the conservative party, or to be asked to lend her support. she spent most of her time castigating the house for its misconduct. at no stage did she pause to consider whether it is, in fact, the way she is leading this government which might be contributing to this situation. i came out of itjust exasperated, because she simply doesn't see the reality. she does not recognise that the house of commons has voted her deal down twice. and jeremy corbyn walked out when he realised one of the mps who'd quit his party was there. all the other representatives from other opposition groups all agreed to meet, no problem, but he had a problem with it, which i don't think is the kind of behaviour people expect

from a leader of an 0pposition. labour said number ten couldn't manage its meetings properly, but what is working properly round here right now? not the machine around the prime minister, nor our political parties, nor our parliament — leaving us, the public, to watch on. and we will know more from those key eu summits on thursday and friday. aid agencies are struggling to reach survivors of the tropical cyclone that has battered south—eastern africa. communications are down, roads are cut off and some communities completely inaccessible. the storm has left hundreds dead, thousands more homeless and without their livelihoods, across mozambique, zimbabwe and malawi. and the british red cross is warning that a disastrous situation is about to become even more challenging. more heavy rain is predicted in the coming days. 0ur africa editor fergal keane reports from what's left of the port city of beira, in mozambique. the water consumes the land. homes, belongings and lives. this is 15 miles from the coast, but has become an inland sea. today, as the rain cleared,

we were able to fly over one part of the flooded interior. 0ver people waiting for food, water and medical aid. this was the town of buzi. population — more than 170,000, wading through the floods to the upper floors of buildings or any patch of dry ground.

some sought refuge in the stands of a stadium. here, crowded onto a bridge. it leads to a cathedral, one of many buildings battered by the cyclone. others have camped on roofs. hundreds have already been rescued from here, but many more are still in desperate need. nearby, we stopped on an island of higher ground, where south african military helicopters were delivering aid. this single white tent represents the international aid community. 100 more are needed and expected, so many people have taken refuge here. what is striking is the dignity and weariness. this situation is very, very serious. there is trouble here, you can say that we are in trouble.

yeah, it's a dangerous situation, because the people are dying because of this flood. but those on the dry land are the lucky ones. this man was saved from a precarious refuge above the water. international rescue teams are now stepping up their operations, flying whenever the weather relents. 0n the ground, survivors are given what comfort is available. fresh water is the first, most basic need. mozambican aid workers and foreigners are together here. the relief operation is being commanded by adrian nance. we are looking for support from the government and from the un agencies so that the urgent, life—saving task can be addressed as quickly as we can. in the city of beira, the thousands who've lost their homes are being sheltered in schools and churches in the few buildings that are largely undamaged. six days since the storm struck, there's severe overcrowding, and even in the city, a serious scarcity of food. this woman was lucky

to get a small supply of rice. translation: help! we are suffering here. help mozambique. here in beira, we're in a very bad way, very bad. we have no water, no food or houses. a few days ago, they lived productive lives, growing their own food. it's not their habit to plead to the world for help, but they desperately need it. very good to have you with us on bbc news. still to come: happy new year, 1398! it's the persian new year, and 300 million people across the world are starting their celebrations. 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. now, 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. welcome back. very good to have you with us on bbc news. 0ur breaking news this hour: the prime minister of new zealand has announced a ban on the sale of assault rifles and semiautomatics

in response to the christchurch terror attack that killed 50 people in two mosques. among the 50 people killed in the christchurch attacks were nine from pakistan. three were from the same family — zeeshan raza, who had been working as an engineer, and his elderly parents. his sister still lives in the pakistani city of karachi and she's been speaking to our correspondent, secunder kermani. zeeshan raza was killed saying his prayers at the linwood mosque. his parents, ghulam hussain and karam bibi, who were visiting him for the first time from pakistan, died alongside him. his sister is the only one in theirfamily left. i was in shock and, it was like... they were my whole family. i have only one brother and my mother and father and that's all. so, it was like...what happened? how it's possible not even one of them survived? they were supposed

to come next month, back to pakistan, my mother and father. and. . . nobody knew that they would never come back. zeeshan had moved to new zealand from pakistan four years ago. living there was like a dream come true. he was like, "new zealand is a paradise. the most peaceful country, the most beautiful country. " he came back many times to pakistan, but it was like new zealand is asking him to come back with all its beauties. funerals for the victims have begun taking place in christchurch. but for medical reasons, zeeshan's sister isn't able to travel there. she says her strong faith is all that's keeping her together. yes, for this world, ifeel that all of my family has gone. but i know that when you have nobody, you have allah with you.

and as for the man accused of killing her family, she says she will forgive him. first of all, i wanted him to be punished very severely. but then i realised that that's not the sound of my prophet. he used to forgive the person that killed his relatives. i want that he become muslim and he repent, and he say that is wrong and he realise how beautiful islam is. 51 schoolchildren in italy have survived an ordeal after a bus carrying them was allegedly hijacked by its driver and set alight near milan. the driver, an italian of senegalese origin, apparently shouted that he wanted to kill himself and stop the deaths of migrants in the mediterranean. ramzan karmali has more. the burnt out wreckage of a school

bus. earlier there were over 50 children on board as it was driven into other vehicles. the 47—year—old driver, an italian born in senegal, is reported to have tired some children up, does the bus in petrol and set it on fire. before he was apprehended, he shouted, no—one will survive! everyone did. 1a people suffered from smoke inhalation. the driver's motivations seem to come from his opposition to italy's migrant policy. translation: made no reference to isis, not a propaganda campaign is in favour of islam. he said it was his personal choice because he could not bear to see children torn apart by sharks and pregnant women drowned. italy's right wing interior minister reacted with outrage and said that the man had a criminal record. but a spokesman from the gut —— bus company was at a loss as to why the driver could have done this. translation: we have no idea because

he never showed any sign. i even asked his chief that he sees every day, but we have no explanation. this really is a tragic situation. the ordeal lasted a0 minutes and ended shortly after police arrived. they had been alerted by a boy who used his mobile phone. they were able to smash the rear windows and let passengers off just able to smash the rear windows and let passengers offjust before it burst into flames. now, all that remains is the shell of a bus that took 51 schoolkids on a journey they may never forget. the bbc has been investigating material shared among young people on instagram that encourages and glamorises eating disorders. advice is being shared on how to make the illnesses more extreme, along with disturbing images of weight loss. the royal college of psychiatrists calls it a problem "spiralling out of control." last month, instagram promised to remove all graphic images of self—harm, a move prompted by our reports about the death of molly russell. her family say she took her own life after viewing graphic content

on the platform. you may find some of angus crawford's report distressing. a secret world of harm. i close my eyes and i can see them, images i'll never, everforget. promoting illnesses that can kill. the fact that i did have instagram, it fuelled the eating disorder. i was dying. if it hadn't been for immediate treatment, yes, i wouldn't be sat here today. but jodie has recovered and is thriving, the memory of the illness pushing her to help others. i love this one here. with her mum julie, using their instagram account to offer advice and to fight back against the damaging content they find there. i show them that it's possible. the pictures on there were so graphic, ofjust skin and bones, really, and anorexia would make you believe that actually you're bigger than that, you need to be like that. and instagram reinforced that, with the comments of "i feel so fat" all over these posts.

but it's notjust about the images. we uncovered a world of extreme diets and content promoting aggressive weight loss. some instagram users post their target or goal weight, dangerously low. it's a secretive community built around the illness. i think it's deeply worrying and, to some extent, the situation is spiralling out of control, because there's so much out there, how to be a better anorexic, tips and tricks to be better at having an eating disorder, so it is sinister, it can be dangerous. even more disturbing, look at this — instagram users searching for so—called ana—buddies to help them make their illness more extreme. we found this conversation — like many others, a child wanting other children to fast with. "i can't do it alone," she says. and there's a stream of replies. # i'm a bird...

meet roseanne. likejodie, she spent months in hospital. just having my whole life taken over by my eating disorder. i just felt lost and hopeless. and, likejodie, she's recovered. the fact that i did have instagram, it fuelled the eating disorder... she says instagram played a major part in her illness too. even on the ward, the platform bombarded her with recommendations for more harmful content. for me, it was the algorithms that weren't helping at all. i'd just get all these suggestions of kind of weight—loss hashtags or hashtags thatjust really weren't very helpful. itjust made it easier and, in a way, kind of tempting to look at it again, and tempting to dip my foot back into the eating disorder world. instagram insists it is taking the problem seriously,

directing users to helplines, banning certain hashtags, spotting harmful activity. in a statement, it said: jodie and her mum, julie, are still scarred by what anorexia did to their family. you and dad look so tired. we were — shattered. there's a lot of worry. in part, they blame instagram, and are now demanding change. please, just close all these awful sites down, get rid of the hashtags, get rid of the negativity there. it should be a safe space, it should be a happy place, and it certainly isn't either. angus crawford, bbc news. a reminder of our top story: new zealand's prime ministerjacinda ardern has announced that assault rifles and military style semiautomatic weapons are to be banned.

the move comes six days after 50 worshippers were killed by a lone gunman at two mosques in the city of christchurch. that will be in place by april 11. interim measures will be limited immediately to prevent a rush of sales. hello. it was the spring equinox yesterday and it felt like spring, particularly if you were in the sunshine. we had an abundance of sunshine across parts of east wales, the midlands and northern england, so sheffield, harden two of the areas to reach 19 degrees. that's the highest it's been since that warmth we had in february. these are the sort of weather watcher pictures we had sent in. of course, we had the cloudier skies as well, such as here, and i think today, on balance, we will have rather more cloud than we had yesterday. but it still should be, for many of us, dry. however, there's always an exception to the rule.

for scotland, we have got this weather front, it's been moving in through the night, bringing this persistent vein to the highlands and islands. quite a wet spell here for the next couple of days. that south—westerly wind maintains the mild weather through the night, just the holes in the cloud fill in with mist and fog. it could be quite murky first thing. that fog should lift except on the hills and the coasts around the south and west of england and wales, scotland too where it remains quite dreary and quite damp as well. even though the rain makes its way further northwards, it has, as you can see, drifted into central parts of scotland, so a different complexion to the weather here. if we do see some brightness, potentially up in the north—east england, we'll see temperatures again 16, 17 degrees. but for most of us, there's less sunshine, just a lot of cloud, but still largely dry weather. now, through the evening, that rain gets pushed away on a strengthening wind and we watch the next weather front hot on its heels coming back in to northern and western areas. so through the night into friday, it turns very wet once again. so, parts of north—west scotland could have a considerable amount of rain in the next day or two. it does freshen up and dry up behind and sunshine returns,

but ahead of it on friday, for many, still be largely dry but rather cloudy and mild. it's a difference, really. we're changing our mild atlantic south—westerly winds for our slightly cooler, almost polar north—westerlies. yes, it's still relatively mild, but temperatures willjust dip back to where they should be for the time of year and we'll see the sunshine returning. although it could be disappointingly cloudy across southern areas on saturday. a third or fourth day of disappointing cloudy weather here. but eventually, that brighter weather will win through and temperatures as you can see are down, significantly so, because we're back into that chilly air and we have some wintry showers. thursday night, friday looks like the windier spell in the north, but we will keep the brisk wind coming in through the weekend. that will accentuate the chill considering what we have had this week. as for next week, we keep the high—pressure close to the south. temperatures recovering a little with some spring sunshine. bye— bye.