welcome to bbc news, i'm mike embley. our top stories: investigators looking into the downing of flight mh17 over ukraine say russian officials directed the rebels linked to the attack. a teenager opens fire on classmates at a high school in california, leaving two dead, three wounded. now, democrats are focusing part of their impeachment case against president trump on a simple allegation of bribery. the bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation. a state of emergency is declared in venice, inundated by the worst flooding

in more than 50 years. investigators examining the shooting down of a passenger plane over ukraine in 2014 have disclosed intercepted phone calls that they say indicate close links between senior russian officials and the rebels accused of attacking the aircraft. nearly 300 people on malaysia airlines flight mh17 were killed. in the phone calls, close aides to president putin seem to be organising supplies of weapons for separatist fighters. gareth barlow has the story. investigators say the intercepted calls show ukrainian separatists and russian officials were in frequent contact before the attack, with russia directly aware of and influencing administrative, financial and military matters.

translation: what we see our separatist leaders, almost on a daily basis, were in contact back then with officials in the russian government. they used a secured phone is an unsecured phones. we suspect these had been provided by the russian intelligence service, fsb. the transcripts appear to show ukrainian fighters were following russian orders. in one released call, a separatist leader told an unknown figure, well, your plans are far—reaching. mine are not. i'm carrying out orders and protecting the interests of one and only state, the interests of one and only state, the russian federation. that's the bottom line. despite a key aide to president putin being heard on one of the calls and the russian defence minister being directly referenced, russia rejects allegations it was involved. 298 people died when the

malaysia airlines flight was struck en route from amsterdam to kuala lumpur. the aircraft came down in eastern ukraine, and dutch investigators have worked for years to establish who is responsible for the disaster. russian backed separatists have been linked to the attack, but moscow argues the investigation is flawed, and aimed at discrediting its international reputation. four men have been charged and are due to go on trial, probably in absentia, earlier next year. investigators have already said the missile launch system used in the attack was sourced from russia. their hope now will be to ascertain who gave the orders and who pressed the button to trigger the deadly attack. another shooting at an american school. two students have been killed. several more were seriously hurt. los angeles police say a student, identified as nathaniel berhow pulled a semi—automatic pistol from his backpackjust as the school day was beginning at saugus high, in the town of santa clarita. after firing on fellow pupils, he turned the gun on himself, but survived.

it was his 16th birthday. he has been arrested and taken to hospital, along with three of his victims. now we're going through the very lengthy process of conducting a thorough investigation to figure out what happened and why. at the same time, we're busy now doing the reunification with the students with their parents, and all the affected students have been notified. theirfamilies have been notified and they're with them currently. these students from saugus high school talked to reporters shortly after the shooting. this marks, like, really important time, especially in santa clarita, where we all need to come together and rally for the students and for oui’ and rally for the students and for our own safety, because i don't want to go to school and be scared for my life. i want to go to school and get my education, focus on my career, being with my friends for my senior year, and not worry about whether or not... the chaos was not bad at all.

obviously everyone was feeling their owi'i obviously everyone was feeling their own inner chaos, feeling scared, terrified. i was personally absolutely terrified, having my friends were ok, trying to reach my itiuiti. friends were ok, trying to reach my mum. buti friends were ok, trying to reach my mum. but i was — i got ushered out of school completely. i knew i was safe with all the cops and... yep. the speaker of the us house of representatives has said president trump has already in effect admitted bribery in the phone call with ukraine's leader which is at the heart of the impeachment inquiry. nancy pelosi was speaking just before a second day of public hearings, and she had this to say about republican pressure on the whistleblower who triggered the inquiry. nobody — nobody — president, the president is not above the law. the president will be held accountable. and nobody should have the right to endanger whistleblowers, and that is the system that i will defend. and the american people —

the american people understand that. we will have more on this live from oui’ we will have more on this live from our correspondent a little bit later on. let's get some of the day's other news: the israeli military says it has launched a new wave of strikes against positions held by the islamichhad group in gaza. the strikes follow palestinian rocket attacks which israel called a "very severe" violation of the truce which has been in place since early on thursday. lebanese media say political groupings are to nominate a billionaire businessman and veteran politician, mohammad safadi, as prime minister. crowds have already gathered outside his home to protest against his appointment. the eu has launched a legal case against britain for failing to nominate a commissioner, in the midst of a british election campaign already dominated by brexit. britain's departure from the bloc has been postponed from 31 october until 31 january, so under eu rules, it is supposed to put forward a candidate for the new commission led by ursula von der leyen.

italy's cabinet has declared a state of emergency in venice over the serious tidal flooding which at its highest in the past few days engulfed more than 80% of the historic city. venice is a unesco world heritage site. prime minister giuseppe conte has allocated $22 million as the first block of emergency funds. jenny hill is in venice for us. even as they clear up, the flood alarms are going off. in a few hours, it is feared venice will be deluged again. it's a disaster, for ourfamily and for all the venetian people. a really, really, really big storm. they haven't seen anything this bad since the 1960s. one couple filmed as they tried and failed to keep the water out. water coming from everywhere, and we — we found ourselves surrounded by water. the beauty of this ancient city fragile now.

inside st mark's basilica, they are still assessing the damage. the crypt was full — filled of water. venice lies low, prone to floods, vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a planned flood defence scheme delayed for years by corruption, scandal and overspend. little comfort for those watching as the tides rise, fall, and rise again. jenny hill, bbc news, venice. after five months of increasingly violent protests, china's president has publicly called on hong kong to restore order and bring violence to an end. earlier, pro—democracy protesters barricaded themselves in university campuses, anticipating more police raids. so are they worried that some of their tactics have gone too far? here is elaine yu. she covers hong kong for the new york times.

this kind of debate has been happening throughout the movement. each time you have seen a bit of escalation, you will see debates happening online, you know, conversations between friends asking have we gone too far? when some people resorted to physical retaliations. so the movement has had, you know, mechanisms for self correction in the past. but now we are seeing this escalation taking place, driven by, you know, anger over a police shooting on monday, and also unprecedented scenes of police just throwing over 1000 teargas rounds police just throwing over 1000 tea rgas rounds into police just throwing over 1000 teargas rounds into a campus. so i think people are still processing what they are seeing, but i think right now, the emotions are running extremely high. it is nearly two years since robert mugabe was deposed as president of zimbabwe. emmerson mnangagwa took over

on a wave of optimism and goodwill, but it was short—lived, and his government has just presented an annual budget in the midst of the worst economic collapse in years. the bbc‘s shingai nyoka examines how so much went so wrong, and the impact it is having. this should be one of harare's busiest clinics. but the economic crisis has brought the public health system to its knees. normally this clinic would be a hive of activity, it serves about 100,000 people in the community, but there is only one qualified nurse at work, and so everyone is being turned away. the sick are not sure where to turn for this baby has the flu. her mother tells me there is no help here. there is no medicine. for others, the consequences are far worse. this woman didn't want to be identified.

her niece had died of heart failure a few nights before. there are not doctors, so after two days she passed away. we couldn't take her to the clinic, because the clinics, they are closed. and also the hospitals like harare hospital, there are no doctors there. so after two days, she passed away. for over two months, hundreds of doctors have been on strike. triple—digit inflation has slashed their salaries by 80%. just two years ago, the president deposed robert mugabe. his presidency was greeted by optimism and celebration. he pledged to set zimbabwe ona and celebration. he pledged to set zimbabwe on a new path to prosperity, but the reality is that life has worsened. at a township on the outskirts of harare, it is plain to see. thousands q for food handouts. half the population is in need of food aid, compounded by the

worst drought in living memory, and even the most vulnerable don't a lwa ys even the most vulnerable don't always get it. this 72—year—old is one of them. she connects discarded plastics to try to sell to buy medication and food. the government has asked for more time to improve the economy. but for many people, like this, time is running out. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: no longer the stuff of comic books. we meet the british inventor who smashed his own record for the fastest flight in a jet suit. the bombastic establishment outsider, donald trump, has defied the pollsters to take the keys to the oval office. i feel great about the election result. i voted for him because i genuinely believe that he cares about the country. it's keeping the candidate's name always in the public eye that counts.

success or failure depends not only on public display, but on the local campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their women volunteers. berliners from both east and west linked hands and danced around their liberated territory. and with nobody to stop them, it wasn't long before the first attempts were made to destroy the structure itself. yasser arafat, who dominated the palestinian cause for so long, has died. palestinian authority has declared a state of mourning. after 17 years of discussion, the result was greeted with an outburst ofjoy. women ministers who'd long felt only grudgingly accepted in the ranks of clergy suddenly felt welcomed. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: an international inquiry into the downing of malaysian airlines flight mh17 over ukraine says russian officials directed the rebels linked to the attack. moscow has rejected the allegation.

two students have been killed and three others injured by a gunman who opened fire at a secondary school in california. let's get more now on the impeachment inquiry which will resume on friday on capitol hill. our correspondent chris buckleer is in washington for us. mister trump is holding another rally in louisiana and we will see pictures of that shortly full 1 of the headlines you were hearing quest in mark president trump is railing against that impeachment enquiry at that rally being held in louisiana. during the rally he spoke about the fa ct during the rally he spoke about the fact that as far as he is concerned, the full story is not being reported, insisting on quoting some news articles that as far as he is concerned there was no quid pro quo and that is what ukrainian officials have been suggesting. at the same

time it is very clear that democrats are lining up an argument to impeach president trump. listen carefully to the speaker of the house of representatives, nancy bluesy. it is clear where they are going with this. she is talking about bribery. this is the idea that donald trump essentially tried to with hold hundreds of millions of dollars of military aid to the ukraine until they launched an investigation into his political rivaljoe biden. it is likely that that will be 1 of the articles of impeachment. another may be the fact that president trump blocked or tried to stop some officials from giving evidence to the impeachment enquiries. you have a sense that the democrats are moving forward but you also get a strong feeling from president trump and the republicans that they have a defence well—prepared and the republicans that they have a defence well—prepa red and and the republicans that they have a defence well—prepared and he is pointing out time and time again in angry civil that make increasingly aggressive terms that no investigation was launched by the ukraine and that the military aid

was paid. and on another point, there is another turn in a battle over the tax returns. a long running 1 this over the tax returns. a long running 1this1. time over the tax returns. a long running 1 this 1. time and time again people have been calling for the president to release his tax returns, right back to the 19705, every president has done it. donald trump has refused. but there is a criminal investigation taking place in new york and prosecutors they have managed to get a subpoena to try and force mister trump's accountants to release his corporate and personal tax returns. mister trump's lawyers do not want to do that and they want to ta ke do not want to do that and they want to take the case now to the supreme court. they say it is a constitutional issue because a president, at least a sitting president, at least a sitting president, should not be the subject of prosecution or investigation in a criminal case. they say it is about presidential immunity. however whether the supreme court's takes the case we have to wait and see and beyond that, democrats are pushing on this issue time and time again

and there is a separate legal case in which congressional committees are also demanding to see the tax returns. the already crowded race to be the democrat who takes on president trump next year is getting more crowded still. deval patrick, former governor of massachusetts, has entered the fray — less than three months before the iowa caucuses. his pitch is for the centre ground. he says he's running for people who want a better future — but feel left out by what the current candidates are offering. laura trevelyan has been taking a look at him. iam i am today announcing my candidacy for president of the united states. and with that, deval patrick announced his late in the day campaign. you made a have thought the packed democratic finally thinning out but now the former massachusetts governor sees an opportunity. we seem to be migrating on1 opportunity. we seem to be migrating on 1 count to nostalgia let's just get rid of the incumbent president and go back to doing what we used to

do. or, it is our way, and go back to doing what we used to do. or, it is ourway, our and go back to doing what we used to do. or, it is our way, our big and go back to doing what we used to do. or, it is ourway, our big idea 01’ none. do. or, it is ourway, our big idea or none. seems i could take down of the front runners for the nomination articularjoe and elizabeth warren. deval patrick was off to new hampshire, registering for the 1st in the nation primary. with high hopes for everyone everywhere. former mayor is not taking this. he is registering for races later in the calendar. 1 thing is for sure, democratic voters have no lack of choices another is another centrist. deval patrick has an inspirational story. born on the south side of chicago he went to harvard and became1 chicago he went to harvard and became 1 of the 1st american african governors in the nation, a friend of barack obama. his challenges to raise money and build an organisation to show he can shake a race.

laura trevelyan there. police in london have foiled an attempt to steal two paintings by rembrandt, worth around £100 million each, from england's oldest public art gallery on tuesday. but police managed to stop them after alarms went off at the dulwich picture gallery in south london. an intruder was chased but was apparently able to get away. south korea is running out of children. it has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. the impact is being keenly felt in rural areas where schools are struggling to fill classrooms and stay open. facing a year without any first graders, one school in the south west has opened its doors to grandmothers who'd never had the chance to learn to read and write. this from our correspondent, laura bicker. "we will study hard", these grandmothers tell their teacher. for decades they dreamt of learning to read and write. now that they have their chance, every moment in this first grade class is special.

translation: i never went to school because we were poor. now i am learning new things and realising it is really nice to go to school. translation: now i know how to read and write. i can thank my teacher 100 times. that is how good i feel. they've lived most of their lives sacrificing for their families, usually male siblings. there was a culture of sending sons to school but not daughters. the root cause was poverty. this rural school once had 90 pupils in each grade. now there are 22 in total. last year there were no new first graders. so the grandmothers asked if they could come. translation: when i was young

i couldn't go to school because i had to raise my siblings. now that i am older i heard this was a good opportunity. that is why i am doing it. babies are becoming an increasingly rare sight in rural areas as south korea's birthrate plummets to one of the lowest in the world. i'm the first scottish person you have met. to try to help, officials have built a new baby unit to support new mothers and encourage them to stay in the area. translation: the trend for young people is to just to live happily with themselves and their husbands. i think the economic factor is the biggest concern in raising a child. but family finances are not the only concern. a demanding work culture makes it difficult for many women to balance their career with family life. as a result, south korea is running out of children. in this class there is only two

students and they are in different grades. but amidst this crisis has come a rare opportunity. to offer an older generation a chance to make up for lost time and lost education. translation: now i can write my name. it is fun. it is just fun to walk to school. a british inventor, who calls himselfjetman, has smashed his own record for the fastest flight inajet suit. richard browning shot through the sky above brighton beach, in the south of england, at more than 85mph. ian palmer was there. we have lift—off, but can he break the jet—propelled bodysuit world record?

i've shouted so loudly before i've been heard over myjet engine noise, on the gopro on my head as i was just exclaiming with joy. it is like this unparalleled degree of freedom when you're flying. it is super fun. richard browning is on his second adjudicated run. can he go any faster? the british inventor didn't just go faster, he obliterated his own world record — reaching a top speed of more than 85 miles an hour. it did start out for no practical reason at all and it's still not how you will take the kids to school any time soon. but as a first stepping stone that opens the door to a whole new way that it might inspire. it already has. these air scouts travelled

all the way from northamptonshire to witness this extraordinary event. it's a wonderful opportunity. you don't get to see a jetpack every day. it was amazing. it's a wonderful chance to be able to come down here and watch it. we really passionate about aviation but this is something really different. this is great, actually. i was very surprised to see a guy just take off and go into the sea, so, yeah. yeah. today is guinness world records day, with more than 650,000 people taking part worldwide. what's certain is that none of them will have stimulated the imagination quite like the british inventor, richard browning. ian palmer, bbc south east today, brighton. now here's an interesting attempt at a world record. 101 people from different countries trying to be the ‘most nationalities ina sauna'. it was a succesful attempt by finland to reclaim the title from china, where the record had been broken in 2013 for 99

nationalities in a sauna. the organisers asked foreign embassies in helskini to help in their efforts to recruit people from other countries. and a reminder of our main use again, investigators examining the shooting down of a passenger plane over the ukraine in 2014 have disclosed intercepted phone calls that they say indicate close links between senior russian officials and the rebels accused of attacking the aircraft. you will remember that nearly 300 people were killed. on the phone calls, close aides to president hooton seem to be organising supplies of weapons for separatist fighters. officials in moscow have rejected the allegations claiming the investigators have manipulated the enquiry. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbcmikeembley.

hello. thursday was another rough day of weather across many parts of the uk. for some it was snow, this is how it looks over high ground in staffordshire. for many more it was rain, rain falling on sodden ground so there are a number of flood warnings in force and you can read about those on the bbc weather website. an area of low pressure spinning across continental europe and the strap of cloud here is what brought the persistent rain across parts of the midlands and north england. snow for some as well. that rain band is now working westwards and weakening but our area of low pressure still spinning around and still in charge of the scene so it will throw more outbreaks of rain in from the east

as we go through the day. across england and wales, largely cloudy day with outbreaks of rain at time. light and patchy at times and heavy rain into the south—east later on. some rain expected in eastern and southern parts of scotland, also northern ireland. morning showers will tend to fizzle and leave some sunshine through the afternoon. it will still be breezy but perhaps not quite as chilly as it was on thursday. into the early hours of saturday you can see further outbreaks of patchy rain spreading from the east towards the west and the best of the clear spells we found across scotland and northern ireland although in scotland there could be dense fog patches to take into saturday morning. into the weekend, an area of low pressure still with us but notice the white lines, those isobars. there are not many of them. the low is flabby which means there's nothing to push the various areas of rain around and so it is a little tricky for us to forecast the exact details at this stage. it looks like many of us will see cloud in some outbreaks of rain

during times during saturday. the best chance of brightness down towards the south. it will not be as windy as it has been. on sunday, a greater chance of seeing heavier and more persistent rain from the east, potentially moving into parts of northern england and the midlands that have seen flooding, so with staying in touch with the forecast. best of the sunshine across the west, particularly northern ireland. into monday, a little ridge of high pressure is going to move its way through and for the start of the week that will settle things down. but there is a big low waiting in the wings in the atlantic and that will bring the return of some rain at times as we head through next week. it will often be windy but will eventually turn a bit milder.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the international inquiry into the downing of malaysian airlines flight mh17 over ukraine says high—level russian officials were directing separatists in eastern ukraine linked to the attack. moscow has rejected the allegation, saying the investigators have manipulated the inquiry. the speaker of the us house of representatives, nancy pelosi, says she believes wednesday's hearings in the impeachment inquiry against president trump showed that he had admitted to bribery in his dealings with ukraine. the president denies acting improperly. two students have been killed and several others injured in a shooting on a school campus near los angeles. the 16—year—old gunman, who was seriously injured after turning the gun on himself, was taken into custody.