this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughanjones with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president biden outlines gun control measures as a first step towards curbing mass shootings in the united states. gun violence in this country is an epidemic. let me say it again — gun violence in this country is an epidemic and it's an international embarrassment. violence flares again in northern ireland for a sixth consecutive night a medical witness says george floyd died from a lack of oxygen after being pinned down by the former policeman derek chauvin — not drugs as the defence claimed. archaeologists unearth an ancient egyptian pompeii close to some of the world's

best known monuments. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we start in the united states. president biden has described gun violence as an epidemic and an international embarrassment. on thursday, he put forward a series of measures to try to tackle the problem. the president said there was widespread public support for stricter rules — despite the efforts of the gun lobby. gun violence in this country is an epidemic. let me say it again — gun violence in this country is an epidemic and it's an international embarrassment. we want to rein in the proliferation of so—called ghost guns. these are guns that are home made. built from a kit. and include directions on how

to finish the firearm. you can go buy the kit. they have no serial numbers, so when they show up at a crime scene they can't be traced. and the buyers aren't required to pass a background check to by the kit to make the gun. lebo diseko is in washington. hello. lots of presidents try and introduce stricter gun—control measures. how is he trying to do this and what you think the chances are?- trying to do this and what you think the chances are? well, i think the chances are? well, i think is very — think the chances are? well, i think is very notable - think is very notable that this is being done through executive order. these are measures that, you know, some people might say are effectivelyjust you know, some people might say are effectively just tinkering around the edges because of how difficult it is to get such measures through congress and passed into law. i think the

most significant of today's measures that were signed by executive order were around, you heard him talking about the ghost guns, these are guns made from kits you buy over the internet, they don't have serial numbers that they are very hard to trace, and experts say they are increasingly being used in crimes. so the president wants the department ofjustice to come up with a way to reduce those numbers and he has given them 30 days, they have 30 days to come up with new rules around that. and the second quite important that was assigned today was around this, is a device called a stabilising brace and it is put onto pistols and the administration says that it effectively turns them into a short barrel rifle full up and president biden referenced the recent shooting, mass shooting in boulder colorado and the shooter there is thought to have used one of these devices. so he wants the department of justice to try to come up with rules to make sure that these are treated or come under the

same kind of restrictions as rifles would be.— same kind of restrictions as rifles would be. and, as if to underscore _ rifles would be. and, as if to underscore president - rifles would be. and, as if to | underscore president biden's point, more shootings in the country today. point, more shootings in the country today-— point, more shootings in the country today. yes. this is in texas. today _ country today. yes. this is in texas. today there _ country today. yes. this is in texas. today there has - country today. yes. this is in texas. today there has been| country today. yes. this is in | texas. today there has been a mass shooting there, one person died, four people had been injured. yesterday, in south carolina, there were five people who were killed, including the shooter himself. he shot himself there. and obviously in the past few weeks we have had really quite a shocking —— quite shocking mass shootings both in georgia and in colorado. when you look at the statistics, the number of mass shootings here in the united states, it is estimated there is about one a day on average. it is also estimated that there have been around 11,000 gun deaths this year alone. president biden there mentioned that most americans are in favour of titans

measures. but, you know, we're talking about things like increasing or the background checks, not necessarily clamping down harder on gun ownership stop and i think the key thing for president biden is in congress, particularly in the senate, there isjust is in congress, particularly in the senate, there is just not the senate, there is just not the support for the stricter measures, so he will have quite a hard time trying to get those through. a hard time trying to get those throu . h. a hard time trying to get those throu~h. ., a hard time trying to get those throu~h. . ., ., and we're going to move to another issue that's close to president biden's heart now. peace in northern ireland. after another night of violence on the streets a white house spokesperson said the good friday agreement, which protects peace in northern ireland, must not become "a casualty" of brexit. these are pictures from a few hours ago. a crowd of mostly young people threw petrol—bombs, fireworks, and stones at police, who responded police are urging people to stay away. rioting 2a hours earlier was the worst in years, as our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports.

on an already febrile situation, now more fuel on the fire. at one of belfast�*s peace lines last night the peace was broken. in the hands of teenagers, petrol—bombs, thrown in both directions over the wall. each evening these gates are locked to keep the mainly catholic and protestant communities apart. now forced open, rammed by cars and battered closed by police, amidst a running battle between crowds on each side. it's hard to control. mobs of kids, when they see one doing it they are joining in. who encourages it? the loyalist politicians

are doing it, because they got brexit in and it is not working. it will take months to repair the damage to this community, if it is ever repaired. as the fighting continued, local priests tried to warn young people of the danger, themselves in harm's way. the to and fro attacks, which lasted over an hour, have been interrupted by the arrival of a police land rovers who have pushed the crowd back from this side of the wall. earlier, on the other side of the wall in loyalist shankill road a bus was hijacked and set alight. the disorder was at a scale that we have not seen in recent years in belfast or further afield. the fact it was sectarian violence and there was large groups on both sides of the gates is something we have not seen for a number of years. in loyalist communities who are staunchly british, there is a back lack over

the brexit deal which sets northern ireland apart from the rest of the uk. when i got here... 19—year—old joel was arrested in a riot over easter and released without charge. he tells me he was looking out for a friend. but many who have become involved are even younger. why do you think this is happening? i don't think young people really understand the details in terms of the irish sea border, what they're being told and seeing in the media is the sinn fein are winning, the republicans are winning and that our identity is under attack. when they hear those words, that stuff, and then they're told, the way you help is by going out and throwing bombs, sticks and stones at people, they're more than willing to do so. people will say, why were you there in the first place, wouldn't have been better to go home? the fact is, someone i cared about was in trouble and that is not something

anyone can blame me for or accuse me for. political leaders gathered at stormont. there can be no place in our society for violence or the threat of violence and it must stop. what we saw last night, i think. _ was a very dangerous escalation of events. and it's utterly deplorable. in the past hour, police under attack again, have used water cannons against large crowds gathered on the nationalist side of the peace wall. there's concern the flood gates have opened on something more reminiscent of northern ireland's days of old. and may be difficult to close. emma vardy in belfast. a medical expert in the trial of the former us police officer, derek chauvin, says george floyd died from a lack of oxygen due to the way he was restrained. mr chauvin was filmed kneeling on george floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during his arrest last may. this is what dr martin tobin

was asked in court by the special assistant attorney—general. have you formed an opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, on the cause of mr floyd's death? yes, i have. would you please tell the jury what that opinion or opinions are? yes. mr floyd died from a low level of oxygen. and this caused damage to his brain that we see and it also caused a pea arrhythmia that caused his heart to stop. dr tobin also rejected the suggestion that the drug fentanyl was in any way responsible for george floyd's death. you're familiar with the way people die from fentanyl? yes, very. do they or do they not go into a coma before they die from a fenta nyl overdose?

yes, they will. was mr floyd ever in a coma? no. thank you, dr tobin. 0ur correspondent larry madowo has been following the trial in minneapolis. dr tobin's testimony today has left the defence's case looking weaker than probably it has at any point in the past two weeks. his testimony that george floyd died from oxygen deficiency, which led to his brain to stop was so significant because it's at the centre what the prosecution is saying here. the three reasons for that, he says, is because he was lying flat on the concrete, he was handcuffed behind his back, and he had several officers kneeling on him. he also calculated that from the moment george floyd stopped breathing there were three minutes and 27 seconds when the neck restraint continued. so dr tobin, all through this testimony, was captivating, he was masterful, and his testimony, therefore, is potentially devastating to the case, because the jury paid attention and took notes.

0ur our thanks to larry for the update there. a senior russian official says moscow could intervene in eastern ukraine, as tensions rise in the region. fighting has increased in the donbass region between ukrainian government forces and russian—backed rebels. america says it's deeply concerned that russia has deployed more troops on its border with ukraine than at any time since 2014, when russian forces seized control of crimea. germany also says russia must unwind its recent military build—up. mark lobel reports. ukrainian troops in the country's tortuous east receive this show of solidarity from their president following weeks of increased fighting there. but the kremlin is accusing he has of provocation and wants it may intervene to protect russian backed separatist rebels they fear may soon face

an all—out assault —— kyiv. as the most senior diplomat for the most senior diplomat for the conflict put it, it depends on how big the fire is. he added... russia, for its part, released these videos of training exercises ukrainian border. the united states says it's increasingly concerned by recent escalating russian aggressions in eastern ukraine, including russian troop movements on ukraine's border. raso now has more troops on the border of ukraine and at any time since 2014. five ukrainian soldiers have been killed this week alone. these are all deeply concerning signs. lives

are bein: deeply concerning signs. lives are being lost _ deeply concerning signs. lives are being lost on _ deeply concerning signs. lives are being lost on both - deeply concerning signs. lives are being lost on both sides. l are being lost on both sides. ukraine says 25 servicemen have been killed so far this year. russian backed rebels report one of their fighters was killed this week when ukrainian troops fired 14 mortar bomb is at a village on the outskirts of the city of donetsk. amid the fighting, president putin accuses his ukrainian counterpart of inflaming matters by pushing for nato membership, which he believes will worsen the situation. while russia insists the buildup of its troops is defensive. both sides now turning up the heat in a simmering conflict. mark lobel, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the ancient egyptian pompeii unearthed close to some of the world's best known monuments.

25 years of hatred and rage as theyjump upon the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future, a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's i works were beautiful, they were intelligent, and it's a sad loss - to everybody who loves art.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president biden outlines gun control measures — as a first step towards curbing mass shootings in the united states. violence flares again in northern ireland — despite the british and irish prime ministers calling for calm. mexico currently has the one of the highest covid death rates in the world and its hospitals are at breaking point. the rollout of the vaccination programme, with its reliance on the sputnik vaccine, has been chaotic. hospitals have reached breaking point. 0ur latin america correspondent, will grant has more. ivan sanchez often takes his wife and children out to eat in a local cafe in mexico state. but these days someone is missing from their regular family lunches —

ivan's father, mario. he fell ill from covid shortly after ivan got the disease. unwilling to go to hospital, he tried to ride out the virus at home — and died on this very sofa. ivan grapples with the grief and the guilt of having infected his father every day. many thousands in mexico have died like mario — untested, under the radar, and not included in the official statistics. translation: after he died i asked a friend to help me l with the paperwork so his death wouldn't be registered as covid but as a respiratory collapse. we did it so we could give him a proper wake at home. as government data suggests a staggering 320,000 have died from coronavirus in mexico. public health experts believe cases like mario's mean the true picture is even worse. most families extra officially are arguing our number could be higher than that 320,000, that we may be about half a million dead.

if such a dire estimate is true, mexico needs to vaccinate its people soon. in one of the worst hit municipalities, there was tentative hope and optimism as the most vulnerable received their jabs. but nationally the criticism is there simply aren't enough doses to go round, and there has never been a proper strategy in place to cope with the scale of the problem in mexico. veronica saw her parents vaccinated — a huge relief after her brother recently died from coronavirus. veronica blames president manuel lopez 0brador for underestimating the pandemic from the start. translation: with elections coming he doesn't care - about the virus. he just wants to keep the economy moving because shutting it down would turn even more people against him. but keeping tourism afloat has had deadly consequences and now

a new spike is expected after the easter break. social distancing at prayer, face masks at mass. as mexico mourns its dead only the us and brazil may have lost more. yet the final figure here may never truly be known. will grant, bbc news, mexico. brazil's terrible toll of victims of covid—19 has hit another record: more than 4200 deaths in one day, as health services teeter in many parts of the country. a survey this week suggests that even the richest hospitals are running short of critical medicines. more than 345,000 people have died of covid—19 in brazil, making it the second—deadliest outbreak after the united states. terrence mccoy is the rio de janeiro bureau chief for the washington post. thank you so much for coming on

the programme. we have been covering brazil and the situation there over the last few weeks and months and the dire situation. bring this up to speed with where you think we are now. it to speed with where you think we are nova— to speed with where you think we are now-— we are now. it has been dire for months. _ we are now. it has been dire for months, for _ we are now. it has been dire for months, for in _ we are now. it has been dire for months, for in the - we are now. it has been dire for months, for in the entire j for months, for in the entire yearin for months, for in the entire year in brazil but it is reaching its most critical moment right now since the beginning of the pandemic. in the last three days alone there have been more than 12,000 people who have died. in perspective, more people who died in the last three days than in all of november. in march, 67,000 people died. also in perspective, more than twice the number of dead in any month during the entire pandemic. the right now the situation in brazil is deteriorating and reaching its critical days right now. reaching its critical days right now-— reaching its critical days right now. reaching its critical days riahtnow. ., ., right now. and what does that mean impact _ right now. and what does that mean impact is _ right now. and what does that mean impact is when - right now. and what does that mean impact is when we - right now. and what does that mean impact is when we talk| mean impact is when we talk about the healthcare system struggling? is this people dying without receiving any medical attention at all? what does it mean? it

medical attention at all? what does it mean?— medical attention at all? what does it mean? it means people are d in: does it mean? it means people are dying and _ does it mean? it means people are dying and about _ does it mean? it means people are dying and about every - does it mean? it means people are dying and about every wayl are dying and about every way you can imagine. people are dying after they have been intubated, the dying without receiving the proper medical coat care, or receiving some but not all. people are even dying in waiting rooms. i spoke to said that people die in waiting rooms and hours go by before it is noticed. this is a situation where this country of 215 million people, it is increasingly looking like a nationwide medical care collapse. nationwide medical care collapse-— nationwide medical care collase. , ., , ., collapse. given that prognosis, what about _ collapse. given that prognosis, what about the _ collapse. given that prognosis, what about the measures - collapse. given that prognosis, | what about the measures taken to try and improve the situation. starting with the vaccine rollout. how is that working?— vaccine rollout. how is that workinu? ., , ., working? not quickly enough. increasingly — working? not quickly enough. increasingly looks _ working? not quickly enough. increasingly looks like - working? not quickly enough. increasingly looks like the - increasingly looks like the only way out is the vaccine and nonpharmaceutical measures have not been able to contain the rise of covid and really it is the vaccine that people must rely on. as of now, too few

people have gotten it. it has been bogged down in delays and political infighting and it is another political football for politicians to kick around. find politicians to kick around. and there is resistance _ politicians to kick around. and there is resistance to lockdowns from the most senior politician in the country? increasingly scientists are calling for a three—week lockdown in brazil but that is politically untenable in a country like rozelle where it is led by a man who, from the beginning, has tried to undermine the gravity of the disease and says that a political lockdown is just something that he will do —— not do and on a state level, some politicians have tried to do this but it is difficult in a place like rozelle where so many people worked in an informal economy and, frankly, people are apathetic about the disease at this point after a full year. people are going about lives as if nothing has

happened. archaeologists have discoverd — in their words — the �*ancient egyptian pompeii', near the city of luxor in egypt. the large, pharaonic city is believed to have been built more than 3000 years ago. it lies near some of egypt's best known monuments. peter lacovara is the director of the ancient egyptian heritage and archaeology fund. i asked why this discovery is so important. it is part of a huge city that was built for the jubilee festival of amenhotep iii. just like the queen, egyptian kings had festivals to celebrate, in his case, the 30th year of his reign so he built a huge palace and the city to go along with it in orderfor that big celebration. so the walls that we are seeing and the

corridors, this is a living city where people would have lived. it looks quite big from the photos. why are we only discovering it now? parts have been excavated for over 100 years but it is such a vast city spread out over ten kilometres and little bits of it have been picked up here and there over the years but it is just too big to excavate the entire extent of it. i think we have some pictures here have other things they have recently unearthed. we have a skeleton. what is the significance of these findings. we see a pot there as well. there are later burials and things dug in and the whole city was, again, it was builtjust for thejubilee so after the celebrations were over it was abandoned and parts of it were dug into for later burials and things like that. what is unique about this discovery is that this part is incredibly well preserved.

so buildings are preserved and objects are in situ, as they were left, grindstones and pottery and all the things to celebrate thejubilee. and before we go, man's best friend has taken on a new form — meet the alphadog. a chinese tech company has developed a robo—dog that obeys commands. the high—tech hound uses sensors and artificial intelligence technology to �*hear�* and �*see' its environment. it can even be taken for walks. the alphadogs are quite popular. more than 1800 were sold in their first month alone. and they're not cheap, costing about $2,400. that is it from me. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @lvaughanjones. hello. although thursday was a little less cloudy for many, plunges us back into the arctic air. in fact, we will stay with the colder air again into the weekend for many. there is certainly a chance of those snow showers and possibly wet and windy weather in the south, we will come to that in a moment. this is the weather front ushering that cold air southwards and that will push to most parts by the end of the day today. with it the brisk wind which has reached severe gale force in the north, slowly easing away, but cold air means widespread frost first thing and a risk of ice because here the showers have been coming through notjust for scotland but for northern ireland, some northern fringes of england and wales as well. that weather front south

is a slow—moving affair. still windy, although they ease off, the great risk of snow piling up is in northern scotland but the showers will come through thick and fast during the day. they could fall as rain, sleet, snow, hail, rumbles of thunder. further south we will have a weather front becoming slow—moving. could be sleety on high ground as the cold air digs in but we will see crisp sunshine across the northern half of the uk through the day ahead and brightness and sunshine to the south of the weather front affording us perhaps 11 or 12 degrees but if you are under the cloud all day, seven and eight is more likely. a transition day one that feels wintry for many. the big question for the weekend is this area of cloud and rain, possible hill snow and a brisk north—easterly wind during the course of saturday and into sunday. there is still quite a bit of uncertainty as to how far north that will come but as i say it could be a spell of wet weather.

a brisk north—east wind makes it feel cold and that could turn to snow over the hills. further north again the crisp sunshine continues but even with the sunshine it will be cold with the risk of sleet and snow showers just about anywhere because we are into the arctic air. the same is true through saturday night and sunday that slowly works out of the way but thn we have arctic air right across the uk and perhaps something more organised coming into the north—west later on sunday. plenty of detail to fill in and if you have plans stay tuned to the forecast. as ever, the forecast and the warnings are online.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president biden has announced his administration's first measures to limit gun violence in the united states after describing the situation as an international embarrassment. his executive orders include the tightening of regulations for guns that can't be traced by the authorities as they're assembled at home. the uk and irish governments have condemned ongoing violence in northern ireland following a week of unrest in belfast. police faced more assaults from, petrol—bombs, fireworks, and stones after protestors gathered on both sides of large gates separating loyalist and nationalist areas. the trial of derek chauvin has been told by a medical expert that george floyd floyd died from a lack of oxygen after officers held him down, in a vice hold, for more than nine minutes. mr chauvin denies a charge of murder.