welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines — us investigators say all 19 schoolchildren, murdered by a teenage gunman in texas, were in the same classroom. minutes before the killings, he'd posted that he was going to attack an elementary school. in the town of uvalde, there's grief, shock, and anger. president biden says he's sick of the carnage caused by gun violence. the idea that an 18—year—old can walk into a store and buy weapons of war, designed and marketed to kill, is i think just wrong. also in the headlines — britain's prime minister

borisjohnson says he will not resign, after a highly—critical report into lockdown parties at his government offices. i. i, mrspeaker, i, i i, mrspeaker, i, lam i, mr speaker, i, lam humbled and i_ i, mr speaker, i, lam humbled and i have_ i, mr speaker, i, lam humbled and i have learned a lesson, mr speaken — the investigation blamed senior leadership for a series of alcohol—fuelled parties at downing street, which broke covid lockdown rules. supermodel kate moss gives evidence in thejohnny depp—amber heard defamation trial. she denies the allegation that the actor pushed her down the stairs. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's news day. hello and welcome to the programme. the gunman, who shot dead 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school, is reported to have posted

three online warnings before his attack on tuesday. the governor of texas greg abbott said salvador ramos wrote first that he was going to shoot his grandmother, then that he had done so. he then declared he was going to "shoot up" an elementary school. this message was sent only 15 minutes before he reached the school. the 18—year—old was killed by border police. the attack took place in the town of uvalde in southern texas. our north america editor sarah smith is there, and has been speaking to members of the community about how they're coping. she sent us this report. the heartbreak is painfully apparent for parents, families and neighbours. it must be the worst news anyone can hear — young children killed in their own classroom. as the police responded to the shooting, parents had to wait to discover if their children had survived or been shot dead. these are the faces of some

of the young victims. xavier lopez was ten years old. as was ellie garcia, and anne—mariejo, also ten. eva mireles was one of the two teachers killed. children from other classrooms were evacuated by police, while the shooter was still inside. this man's eight—year—old son was unharmed and he doesn't understand what happened yesterday. your son doesn't know that there was a shooting in the school? no, he'sjust acting like a regular day at school. how are you going to tell him what happened yesterday? well, only time, when the time comes... have friends of his being killed? yes. you will have to tell him that as well. yes. it will be heartbreaking for you as well as for him. exactly. the gunman, 18—year—old salvador ramos, lived locally. police have no idea why he did this, or if it was pre—planned. he crashed his car outside the school, emerged wearing body armour and carrying

a semiautomatic rifle. unfortunately, the suspect managed to get inside one of the classrooms and barricaded himself, where he started to shoot not only at officers that were responding but also inside the classroom. all 21 victims have now been identified, and their remains removed from the school. what happened here in ulvade has reignited a nationwide political argument about gun control, and why powerful military—style assault weapons are so readily available in places like texas, but the political response has served to illustrate how deeply divided america is over guns. gun ownership is common and widespread in texas, but questions are being asked about why an 18—year—old needs access to a military—style rifle. the idea that an 18—year—old can walk into a store, - and buy weapons of war, designed| and marketed to kill, is,

i think, just wrong — _ it just violates common sense. the police are working to try to establish a motive for this shocking crime. the local community will never understand why this had to happen here. sarah smith, bbc news, uvalde, texas. our north america correspondent, nomia iqbal, is at the scene for us in uvalde, with the latest. this usually very quiet neighbour toe has been completely torn apart by the horror of what happened in the school behind me, —— neighbourhood, and every once in awhile you see children with their young —— families with their young —— families with their young —— families with their young children carrying teddy bears, balloons and flowers to give to officers who are guarding the school to lay down on the grounds. this is a

tight—knit community, everyone knows each other and they are now plunged into this deep grief. this is the eighth mass shooting this year in america, the 27th school shooting, and you ask yourself do school shootings like this to get national coverage? yes, they do, there is a huge amount of media here, that is because we are talking about 19 children, who were barricaded inside one classroom with their teacher and shot dead by the government. there is something that thumped —— by the gunmen. there was something familiar here, politicians are united by their grief, anger and horror, they pray, but then they are very quickly divided, there is the democratic party who want very meaningful gun legislation to stop this from ever happening again, and on the other side republicans who say any legislation is an infringement on american people's right to bear arms. will this lead to any change? the grim expectation by people is it will either lead to little change or nothing at

all. as nomia was saying, president biden has made a heartfelt appeal for america to "stand up to the gun lobby", and tighten restrictions, but frankly america is as divided as ever about the stated right to bear arms. our correspondentjohn sudworth reports from newtown, in connecticut, where a decade ago, 20 children and six adults were killed in a mass shooting at sandy hook elementary school. the flag's at half mast, a gesture of empathy from one town, one of so many scarred by the tragedy of gun violence. but there's despair here, as well. almost a decade ago, six—year—old dylan hockley was murdered in his school, along with 25 others. his mother, nicole, set up the sandy hook promise foundation. with little hope of gun control, the focus is on trying to help schools identify potential killers in advance. your thoughts and prayers are meaningless unless there is something substantive behind it that backs it up, and a lot of these politicians,

they can do all the thoughts and prayers in the world, but then they don't take action whatsoever, so their words are meaningless. if you can't act on it, it doesn't matter. the recurrence of school shootings has left no shortage of national despair, as well. the problem, which came to the awful conclusion you're facing here, is a demon we have to do more to fight. our nation is shocked - and saddened by the news of the shootings at | virginia tech today. since i have been president, this is the fourth time that we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings. as a nation, we have to ask, when in god's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? but the outrage hasn't affected gun sales. 42% of adult americans

own a gun, or live with someone who does, and they are buying more. last year almost 20 million were sold, six new guns for every 100 americans. on average there are now more than 100 gun deaths per day in america, and although mass shootings account for a tiny fraction of the total, from sandy hook to columbine to virginia tech, they aren't seared into this country's consciousness, but with each one it is not change that appears increasingly inevitable, but the lack of it. while president biden was urging more regulation, others were defending lawful gun rights. you see democrats and a lot of folks in the media whosel immediate solution is to try| to restrict the constitutional rights of law—abiding citizens, which doesn't work. _ it's not effective and it - is not going to prevent crime. we know what does prevent crime, which is going - after felons— and fugitives and those with serious mental illness. 0n the fire station roof, there is a star for each school child or staff member killed here.

"we can't tolerate this any more," president 0bama said then, but ten years on, the solution seems as far away as ever. john sudworth, bbc news, sandy hook. in the aftermath of a tragedy like this in the us, the debate over gun ownership laws is always revived, but how have other countries around the world dealt with similar problems? nick brodie is the author of "under fire: how australia's violent history led to gun control". he's in tasmania, and he explained how a mass shooting there led to a tightening of australia's gun controls in 1996. sea port arthur massacre effectively galvanised australia after a period of laxity. so we had had gun regulation before that, we had not had a series of massacres before port arthur, but port arthur was on such a scale that it really re—triggered the

national gun regulation conversation, effectively creating a new national framework. because up until that point, individual states have done their own thing. they had looked to each other and modelled but there was a patchwork approach, and there was no overarching national agreement on how to deal with this problem. find agreement on how to deal with this problem.— this problem. and nick, 'ust lookin: this problem. and nick, 'ust looking at i this problem. and nick, 'ust looking at the situation h this problem. and nick, just looking at the situation in i this problem. and nick, justl looking at the situation in the united states obviously something tragic as this, that debate always gets revived, doesn't it come on both sides of the political spectrum, but just specifically in the australian case, what is the situation today, with regards to gun deaths and mass shootings, after the passing of those reforms?— those reforms? well, port arthur was _ those reforms? well, port arthur was the _ those reforms? well, port arthur was the last - those reforms? well, port arthur was the last mass i arthur was the last mass shooting that australia has had on that scale. we still have lots of guns, we still have a gun culture a bit like the us, not quite the same scale, but we simply don't have that level of gun violence, and that's largely because we don't have that attachment to the idea of

individualistic rights that everybody has the right to bear their own gun.— their own gun. picking up on that sort of, _ their own gun. picking up on that sort of, the _ their own gun. picking up on that sort of, the historical i that sort of, the historical root of all of this, i know you've done a lot of research on the colonial aspects of this, and how have gun lobbies developed in x british colonies, like the united states and australia? well, it's quite — states and australia? well, it's quite interesting. - states and australia? well, it's quite interesting. the i it's quite interesting. the history of the national rifle association is often forgotten. it is actually an english invention. the national rifle association was founded in britain in 1859. it is basically a mix between a gun club and a militia organisation, and it grew out in the era before standing professional armies were very common. so it is about training people so they can shoot in times of warfare. the australian colonies pretty rapidly adopted that model and you see national rifle association is an colonial rifle association is formed

here in a couple of decades after, and of course the us follows in 1871, forming the national rifle association, which we still have with us. what basically happens though in the long term is that, while the british and australasian rifle associations decline as the need for those militias disappears, as global situation changes, but the nra in america reconfigures itself as a political organisation, geared to defending gun rights, basically because an alliance with gun manufacturers. that was nick brodie _ with gun manufacturers. that was nick brodie there, - was nick brodie there, historian and author speaking to us a little earlier. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme — thejonny depp—amber heard defamation trial — supermodel kate moss appears by video link, to deny an allegation that he'd abused her. in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored

athletic events to aid famine relief in africa. the first of what the makers of star wars hope will be thousands of queues started forming at 7am. taunting, which ledj to scuffles, scuffles to fighting, fighting to full—scale riot, - as the liverpool fans broke out of their area and into i the juventus enclosure. the belgian police had lost control. i the whole world will mourn the tragic death of mr nehru today. he was the father of the indian people from the day of independence. the oprah winfrey show comes to an end, after 25 years and more than 11,500 episodes. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. geri halliwell, otherwise known as "ginger spice", has announced she's left the spice girls. argh! — i don't believe it! she's the one with the bounce, the go, girl power. _ not geri. why? -

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani, in singapore. our main headline: us investigators say all 19 schoolchildren murdered by a teenage gunman in texas were in the same classroom. minutes before the killings, he'd posted that he was going to attack an elementary school. let's turn to the uk now, where the prime minister, borisjohnson, has rejected calls for his resignation, after an official report blamed leadership failings for a series of lockdown—breaking parties in and around downing street. the report revealed a culture of alcohol—fuelled parties in government offices, at a time when british people were banned from socialising, or even attending funerals because of the pandemic. 0ur political editor, chris mason, has more. it was the week before christmas this investigation began. today, its verdict delivered.

37 pages and nine photos. and here it is. at party after party, when of course parties were banned, we read about wine and cheese, beer and pizza. 0n pages 15 and 16, an event with a karaoke machine, excessive alcohol consumption, one person being sick. a minor altercation, a fight between two people. people leaving in the middle of the night. and on page 13, a reference to that do where people were encouraged to bring their own booze. the day after a senior official says, "we seem to have got away with it." sue gray concludes there were events that should not have been allowed to happen. she puts blame on senior leadership at the centre, who must bear responsibility for this culture. since her earlier report injanuary,

she accepts progress is being made in addressing the issues raised, but that we, the public, have the right to expect the highest standards of behaviour, and what happened fell well short of this. she makes one final observation, that it is her firm belief that these events did not reflect the prevailing culture in government at the time. the prime minister had a few hours to digest what the report said, this morning, before addressing mps at lunchtime. i take full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch. sue gray's report has emphasised that it is up to the political leadership in number ten to take ultimate responsibility and, of course, i do. sue gray investigated 16 events. the police looked at 12. fines were issued at eight of them. the prime minister showed up at nine of them. for the first time we have

pictures published today of the one both he and the chancellor were fined for, a mid afternoon gathering to mark mrjohnson�*s birthday injune 2020. the report also includes these images from a leaving do. the prime minister said turning up at events like this was an important part of hisjob. i briefly attended such gatherings to thank them for their service, which i believe is one of the essential duties of leadership. labour's leader, himself alongside his deputy currently under police investigation for breaking covid rules, repeated that borisjohnson must resign. it's time to pack his bags. only then can the government function again. only then can the rot be carved out. only then can we restore the dignity of that great office and the democracy that it represents. and other party leaders also focused on the prime minister's

character... truthfulness, honesty and transparency do not enter his vocabulary. it is just not part of his way of being, and it speaks for the type of man that he is. can the prime minister look the british people in the eye and name one person, just one person, he cares about more than himself? and this conservative critic of mrjohnson posed this thought for fellow tory mps... the question i humbly put to my colleagues is, are you willing, day in, day out, to defend are you willing, day in and day out, to defend this behaviour publicly? some did respond by saying, "yes." from the commons it was back to downing street for the prime minister, and questions from reporters. reporter: talk to our viewer, convince our viewer that you are not tempted or willing to lie to get out of a tight spot?

i say to that person, "look, i've tried to explain as clearly as i can "what happened." i believe that they were work events, they were part of myjob, and that that view appears to be substantiated by the fact that i wasn't fined. borisjohnson was back in parliament, facing conservative mps in private. it is they who have the power to decide whether he stays or goes. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. now to pakistan, where the former prime minister, imran khan, has arrived near islamabad to lead a protest demanding new elections. imran khan has urged supporters tojoin his long march to the capital, despite all approach roads being blocked and thousands of police being deployed to prevent the demonstrators reaching the city centre. he was ousted as prime minister in april

after a no—confidence vote in parliament. saher baloch reports now. islamabad this evening looks like a battleground. the capital is tense as protesters continue to arrive. former prime minister imran khan has asked his supporters and party workers to gather near the parliament. holding pakistan's flag in his hands, khan is also on his way towards the capital, where he will demand the dissolution of the parliament and call for early elections. protesters have fought all day to reach the city. there were early—morning classes in lahore, where tear gas was fired in an attempt to scatter the protesters — but they remained undeterred. tear gas was again fired this afternoon to disperse the protesters approaching islamabad. but they managed to break through, despite the barricaded streets

and the heavy presence of riot police. clashes have erupted between the police and the marchers as they are being stopped from getting into islamabad. the government is also trying to persuade former prime minister imran khan to move his protests to a designated spot and to not prolong his sitting, as it was seen before. the supreme court of pakistan is also speaking with both the current government and imran khan and has asked them to reach an agreement. so, for the time being, the situation seems to be in a flux. many have now made their way to this entry point into the capital, and the marchers' progress has put pressure on the current government to try and reach a compromise. imran khan this evening appears to remain resolute and stand by the demand that elections are called. as the unrest reaches the heart of the capital, the country is watching to see how the protests will unfold. saher baloch, bbc news, islamabad. the supermodel kate moss has given evidence in the defamation case between actorsjohnny depp and amber heard.

she told the court via video—link that she'd never been pushed down the stairs by the actor, a rumour which had been referred to by ms heard, his former wife. mr depp is suing ms heard, following an article in which she said he was violent, and she is countersuing. here's david sillito. would you please state your full name for the record? kate moss. kate moss testifying by video in what is week six of this libel case betweenjohnny depp and his former wife amber heard. and the reason? to address a rumour mentioned by amber heard that kate moss had been pushed down some stairs during a holiday injamaica, when she and johnny depp were a couple. what if anything happened when you were injamaica with mr depp? we were leaving the room, and johnny left

the room before i did, and there had been a rainstorm and as i left the room i slid down the stairs| and as i left the room i slid down the stairs and i hurt my back. did mr depp push you in any way down the stairs? no. during the course of the relationship did he ever push you down any stairs? no. he never pushed me, kicked me, or threw me down any stairs. johnny depp returned to the witness stand to himself address amber heard's allegations. one of the questions about his alleged drug use. have you ever consumed eight to ten and mdma pills at once? no i have not. and why is that? because i'd be dead, i'm pretty sure i'd be dead. final arguments are scheduled for friday. david sillito, bbc news, fairfax, virginia. now, take a look at this.

what is it? a speck of dust? a bed bug? nope, it's a robot. a robot the size of a flea that can twist, turn and jump. only half a millimetre wide, this remote—controlled robotic crab can perform tasks in tiny spaces. developers at northwestern university in the us, hope that someday such miniature machines could be used as surgical assistants to clear cancerous tumours and unclog arteries. the same team have developed millimetre—sized robots that look like beetles and inchworms. and before we go, let's get back to our main story — the school shooting in texas. there's been an outpouring of grief in the us. but in addition to vigils, there have been tributes to the victims happening around the globe. this is the scene at a vigil being held in northern india, at the punjabi city of amritsar, honoring the victims in texas.

that is it from us. thank you so much for watching. stay with bbc news. hello, again. i think it's fair to say eastern england had the best of wednesday's weather. durham was the sunniest place, eight hours of sunshine. and the warmest spot was holbeach, in lincolnshire with 20 degrees celsius. it was a lovely end to the day meanwhile in worcestershire. right now, the weather is quite quiet. we've got a few showers for the northwest of scotland, but thickening cloud moving into northern ireland starting to bring outbreaks of rain. it's mild for the most part, but quite chilly air with us in scotland today, and if you look at where the air is coming from, although across the uk we'll all pretty much have westerly winds, in the south, the air is coming from a long way south, whereas in the north, the air is coming around, past iceland, so from polar regions, eventually working into northern scotland, so they'll be big temperature contrasts across the country, from north to south. now, we start off with our band

of rain thursday morning, in northern ireland, pushing eastward across northern england, and scraping into the far south of scotland, north wales, the north midlands, as well. the front itself weakens as it slowly trickles down towards lincolnshire, through the afternoon. brighter skies to the northwest. blistery showers in scotland. to the south, some sunny spells and feeling warm, with temperatures up to 21 degrees, but the air gets cooler and cooler the further north you go and so in stornoway and lerwickjust 11 degrees. there'll be some fairly brisk, blistery winds making it feel quite chilly. now, through friday, the winds turn to more of a northwesterly direction. those winds will bring plenty of showers to northern and western scotland. there'll be one or two for northern ireland, the northwest of both england and wales, but otherwise, most of you will see some spells of sunshine. in the sunshine, not feeling bad again for the southern areas of uk — 20 in cardiff, 21 in london, feeling warm in the sunshine, but across the far northwest, a little on the cool side once again. now, for the weekend, high pressure is influencing our weather, but it is moving to the northwest of the uk,

allowing these northerly winds to dive in. might well start off sunny where you are and a cold start to the day but the cloud is likely to build up, particularly for northern and eastern areas. the best of the sunshine and the highest temperatures for southern parts of wales and southwest england, where we should get up to about 20 degrees, butjust 12 in aberdeen. cloud might be a bit thicker on sunday. perhaps one or two showers around and temperatures for the most part will be just dropping a few degrees. it will start to feel a little bit cooler. should still be a bit us sunshine around, but 11 in aberdeen, feeling on the chilly side, and just 1a in london.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. cocaine is a... ..devil, to be fair. this is a story of drugs and booze and addiction. i think with addiction the end result for anybody is death, prison, or institution. it's the story of the fight to get clean for those living the edge.

generally, seriously, one slip would kill me