this is bbc news. i'm victoria fritz with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a vigil is held in texas for the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers murdered in their classroom by a teenage gunman. it's revealed he'd posted before the shootings he was going to attack an elementary school. as families in the town of uvalde try to come to terms with what took place, countries around the world have voiced shock and concern at america's gun culture. in other news: no let up in russia's bombardment of ukraine's eastern donbas region. some towns and villages are literally being raised to the ground.

an act of kindness or a cynical ploy to win over poorer customers? drugs giant pfizer says it'll no longer make profts from medicines it sells to the world's low—income countries. ukraine takes its conflict with russia to the big screen. hello there and a very warm welcome to the programme. the gunman who shot dead nineteen children and two teachers at an elementary school in texas 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. 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. lupe�*s eight—year—old son was unharmed, and doesn't understand what happened in his school yesterday. your son doesn't know that there was a shooting in the school? no, he'sjust acting like a regular day at school. a regular kid. how are you going to tell him what happened in the school yesterday? well, only time, when time comes... have friends of his been killed? yes. you'll have to tell him that as well. yes. it'll 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 carrying a semi—automatic rifle. unfortunately, the suspect managed to get inside one of the classrooms and barricade 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 uvalde has reignited a nationwide debate about gun control, and why powerful military—style assault weapons are so readily available in places like texas, but the political response has just 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. itjust 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, david willis, joins me now. as sarah said, the motive remains unknown but we do know now is that it certainly was premeditated. what more can you tell us about these posts that were put on facebook watch back victoria, we know this is a deadliest school shooting in this country in nearly a decade since the sandy hook massacre in newtown, connecticut, 19 killed and two adults as well as the schoolchildren. figs killed and two adults as well as the schoolchildren. as you sa , we as the schoolchildren. as you say. we know _ as the schoolchildren. as you say, we know as _ as the schoolchildren. as you say, we know as well - as the schoolchildren. as you say, we know as well that - as the schoolchildren. as you | say, we know as well that the gunmen, 18—year—old salvador ramos, posted a number of online before he embarked on this a murderous rampage. he said that he was going to kill his grandmother, he reported then that he had done so and he said then that he was going to embark on a shooting, a rampage, atan embark on a shooting, a rampage, at an elementary school, which he did, after

taking a car, crashing it and then entering the school through a back door. now officials are saying that they are trying to pinpoint what actually happened during the early part of that incident when he was confronted by an official at the school gate. trying to find out why there wasn't some sort of stand—off at that point but it appears that salvador ramos then ran into the building and started shooting with his rifle. what shooting with his rifle. what has the response _ shooting with his rifle. what has the response been - shooting with his rifle. what has the response been fromi shooting with his rifle. what i has the response been from a president biden? do we know if he will attend personally? yes. he will attend personally? yes, he will attend personally? yes, he is planning _ he will attend personally? yes, he is planning to _ he will attend personally? yes, he is planning to attend - he will attend personally? yes, he is planning to attend the - he is planning to attend the small texas town where this massacre took place sometime in the next few days. just as he did in buffalo, new york, before he embarked on a trip to asia. he will do the same thing in texas, basically letting his condolences to the relatives of

those who died and president biden has been vocal again and calling for enhanced gun—control is in this country. it is not a matter on which rival republicans agree. they believe the answer to shooting incidents of this kind lies in more police, tougher mental health checks and so on, but both sides are accusing the other of politicising this debate and it is starting to look, once again, as though very little will be achieved in terms of legislation. it’s terms of legislation. it's possible. _ terms of legislation. it's possible, therefore, - terms of legislation. it's possible, therefore, that president biden is going to be at the scene here at pretty much the same time that the former president donald trump is due to speak at annual convention for the nra? is that right? convention for the nra? is that riuht? ~ , , convention for the nra? is that riht? , , , ., right? absolutely, yes, and the nra issued _ right? absolutely, yes, and the nra issued a — right? absolutely, yes, and the nra issued a statement - right? absolutely, yes, and the nra issued a statement today | nra issued a statement today basically expressing sympathy for the victims, saluting those who intervened or attempted to

intervene and going on to say that they pledged to, as they put it, redouble their commitment to making schools in this country secure. now the national rifle association is not in the moral majority on this issue. opinion polls continue to show that the majority of people in this country favour tighter gun control laws but such is the influence of the national rifle association that they and their supporters have managed to forestall any such measures and president biden yesterday expressed his exasperation with that when he said when in's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? but there is another factor at play here because mass shootings in this country are now so ubiquitous that some research conducted by princeton university has found that it takes just three days before public anger over a mass

shooting in this country to dissipate. three days. and then the country moves on.— the country moves on. devin willis, thank— the country moves on. devin willis, thank you. _ for more on this story, you can take a look at our website — all the latest at bbc.com/news. the story has really gripped the world. 19 children at an elementary school now dead and two teachers as well. let's get some of the day's other news. the republican governor of the american state of oklahoma has signed into law the strictest abortion regulations in the us. oklahoma now prohibits all abortions except in cases of medical emergency, rape or incest. many republican—led state legislatures are rushing

through anti—abortion laws later this year, anticipating that the supreme court will soon overturn the constitutional right to abortion established in 1973. the government in pakistan has called in the army to help protect key official buildings following clashes between police and supporters of the former prime minister imran khan. he led a huge convoy into the capital, islamabad, late on tuesday, despite earlier attempts to seal off roads into the city. political tensions have been building ever since mr khan was ousted in a vote of no confidence last month. senegal�*s president says 11 newborn babies have died in a fire at the neonatal section of a regional hospital in the town of tivaouane, around 120km east of the capital. president sall, who posted the news on twitter, didn't give any further details about the fire. the governor of luhansk province in ukraine has described the situation

in the eastern donbas region as exceptionally bad, with no let up in russian shelling. several cities are under intense bombardment as russian forces try to encircle them. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. it's the region now at the heart of president putin's war — the donbas. this is the area he wants to control, and that's why it's under intense bombardment. no—one in the world has a clear picture of what — what is happening there. some villages and towns, they do not exist anymore. they were all turned into rubbles by russian artillery fire, by russian multiple launch rockets, systems, and it's devastating. according to russia, its forces have made progress in its two provinces, luhansk and dontesk, which are claimed by russia—backed separatists.

russian forces say they've captured three more towns in donetsk. now it's severodonetsk and lysychansk that are in theirsights, which would give them control of the entire luhansk province. in severodonetsk, the shelling has been relentless and the fighting has now reached its outskirts, meaning russian troops could soon surround their target. the governor of luhansk told the bbc that russian forces are close enough to use mortar rounds, as well as artillery and aerial bombing. but he said its 115,000 civilians don't want to leave their homes. despite its progress in donbas, russia has seen some more setbacks with ukraine in the west insisting they face significant troop casualties. translation: almost 30,000 russian soldiers killed, - more than 200 downed aircraft,

thousands of lost russian tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment. russian missile ammunition is almost completely used up and they want to cover it up with lies that they're not fighting at full strength. so perhaps in reaction, russia's parliament has now lifted the upper age limit for first—time conscripts, a sign it sees no immediate end to the war. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. here, borisjohnson has resisted more calls to resign after a damning report on government lockdown parties was released. the senior civil servant sue gray concluded in her report that many of the events across whitehall and downing street "should not have been allowed to happen". her words. labour says the report "laid bare the rot" in number 10, and called on the conservatives force the prime minister out of office. stay with us on bbc news. much more to come.

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 led 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. argn — i don't believe it! she's the one with the bounce, the go, girl power. _ not geri. why? -

this is bbc news. our main headline: a vigil is being held in texas for the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers murdered in their classroom by a teenage gunman. it's revealed he'd posted before the shootings he was going to attack an elementary school. pfizer has said it will no longer make profits from selling its patented medicines to 45 of the world's low—income countries. the announcement, made by pfizer ceo albert bourla at the world economic forum in davos, will see the pharmaceutical giant make 23 of its patented medicines available at not—for—profit prices, including its covid vaccine and oral treatment. the move follows a lucrative period for the company, which saw revenues double

in 2021 to $81.3 billion. but the company says the move will benefit over1 billion people, starting with the african states of senegal, ghana, uganda, rwanda and malawi, the first countries to sign up to the scheme. let's speak to the director of research in pharmaceutical development at the university of southern california. thank you so much forjoining me. what kind of treatments will this cover? this will this cover? will cover a range of different this will cover a range of different treatments, certain kinds of cancer, infectious disease, inflammatory conditions, and both pfizer's over the treatment and its covid vaccine. it over the treatment and its covid vaccine.— over the treatment and its covid vaccine. , ., , ., covid vaccine. it sounds on the surface fantastic, _ covid vaccine. it sounds on the surface fantastic, a _ covid vaccine. it sounds on the surface fantastic, a pretty - surface fantastic, a pretty diverse array of medicines, but supply is one thing, but through these low income countries that we mentioned, do they have the infrastructure in place to be able to deliver

this medicine so people can really use it. i this medicine so people can really use it.— really use it. i think that is a ureat really use it. i think that is a great point. _ really use it. i think that is a great point. medicines . really use it. i think that is i a great point. medicines are really use it. i think that is - a great point. medicines are an important piece of the puzzle they are one piece of the broader healthcare puzzle. you have to diagnose the disease, make contact with the patient and family to make sure they comply with the medication and i think pfizer and its partners in this effort have recognised that and made a point of thinking about the infrastructure needed in order to deliver medicine, make sure that it benefits patients who need it. do that it benefits patients who need it. ,, that it benefits patients who need it. , ., ~ that it benefits patients who need it. i. ~ , that it benefits patients who need it. ~ , ., , need it. do you think this does an hinu need it. do you think this does anything to — need it. do you think this does anything to the _ need it. do you think this does anything to the politicisation i anything to the politicisation of medicine around the world, and does this give a boost to low income countries in terms of their negotiating position when discoveries are made and when discoveries are made and when money is distributed, medicine is distributed around the world? i think it certainly gives lower income countries a seat at the table that perhaps they previously didn't have. in order to access the latest

medical technologies. whereas -reviousl medical technologies. whereas previously they— medical technologies. whereas previously they might've - medical technologies. whereas previously they might've had i medical technologies. whereas j previously they might've had to wait medicines to go off patent. now they might have access during the patent period. that is what these kinds of initiatives promise. now, there have been other companies, competitors, the likes of astrazeneca who have already said they would do this, so if it'sjust already said they would do this, so if it's just pfizer catching up? it is a pr stunt or will it make a real discernible difference? i think that many _ discernible difference? i think that many farmers _ discernible difference? i think that many farmers who -- - discernible difference? i think. that many farmers who -- from that many farmers who —— from serial companies —— pharmaceutical companies. there have been calls for the suspension of patent rights in the transfer of technologies. this is a strategy that is i think are meant to alleviate some of those concerns, and there is something in it for both sides. on one hand, pfizer and astrazeneca won't have two

surrender their rights, but on the other hand, low income countries will receive medication without having to solve the problem of standing up solve the problem of standing up their own manufacturing capacity even if they were to have the technology transferred to them. i think there is something in for both sides as a way forward.— a way forward. really interesting. - a way forward. really interesting. thank . a way forward. really | interesting. thank you a way forward. really - interesting. thank you so much for your time.— time for all the sport now. hello. i am mark edwards with your sport. we start with tennis where all is well at the court of the 'king of clay'. rafael nadal remains on course for a record—extending14th french open title. in the night session on wednesday on philippe chatrier, the number five seed cruised into the third round at roland—garros with a straight—sets win over the french wildcard corentin moutet, who's ranked 139 in the world. nadal, who won the australian open injanuary to claim a record 21st grand slam singles title, came through 6—3, 6—1, 6—4 to reach the last 32. he'll now face the 28 seed

from the netherlands, botic van de zandschulp. but it wasn't quite as straight forward for third seed alexander zverev, though. the 2020 us open runner—up and a semifinalist here last year had to come from two sets down and match point down to beat sebastian baez in five sets. he was obviously still a bit tetchy after the win as per his reaction in the post—match press conference. can you at least look at me when i'm giving an answer? asked me a question and you werejust on your asked me a question and you were just on your phone. alexander zverev with a good piece of advice for all aspiring sports journalists out there. meanwhile, in the women's singles, there were shock defeats for number four seed maria sakkari and reigning us open champion emma raducanu. the british number one unable to capitalise on a one—set lead as her french open debut came to an end at the second round, her belarusian opponent aliaksandra sasnovich recovering well to beat the 12th seed 3—6, 6—1, 6—1.

on to football, and the italian side roma are the first ever winners of europe's newest club competition, the europa conference league. nicolo zaniolo scored the only goal of the game as they beat feyenoord from the netherlands in the final in tirana. it's their first trophy since lifting the coppa italia in 2008, and theirfirst european trophy since winning the old fairs cup back in 1961. roma's victory means a fifth european trophy for head coach jose mourinho who's won the champions league twice, the europa league twice and has never lost a european final. us asa us as a club, we needed to win it, and for the fans, i think all season we have had nothing in the league but they have been there every day, whether we have one, lost or drew, and tonight is for them, that is all i can say, and i think it is fully deserved because we are in the best hands in the

world, and tonight is for them. finally, some cycling for you. the giro d'italia is still too close to call. with four stages to go, just three seconds separate race leader richard carapaz from jai hindley. stage 17 was another test for the climbers in the mountainous north of italy, colombia's santiago buitrago, despite crashing earlier in the day, broke away to win the stage. olympic road race champion richard carapaz stays in the leader's pinkjersey. the ecuadorian finished just ahead of australia's hindley to keep his 3—second lead intact. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. but from me and the rest of the sport team, goodbye. a central feature to the cannes film festival this year has been the war in ukraine. president zelensky gave a live video address to the opening night audience, urging filmmakers not to be silent over russia's invasion. and several movies made by ukrainian directors or about ukraine are being screened at the festival. but can these films really make any difference to the war and ukraine? from the french riviera,

tom brook has been sampling what's on offer. a church basement seen in this documentary shows the desperate lives of citizens who have lost their homes with the devastation of war. it comes from a lithuanian director who was killed allegedly by russian soldiers in april. his fiancee smuggled the footage out of ukraine and it was hurriedly assembled. one of the cove producers so that brings audiences something quite different in news footage from ukraine. . . , ukraine. the narrative is the base that — ukraine. the narrative is the base that people _ ukraine. the narrative is the base that people spend - ukraine. the narrative is the base that people spend with| ukraine. the narrative is the - base that people spend with the bombing that you hear and you see sometimes, and how they live, so maybe those who can see this film will be looking differently at what happens there, but also, everyday life of other things.— of other things. another film from ukraine _

of other things. another film from ukraine doesn't - of other things. another film from ukraine doesn't on - of other things. another film from ukraine doesn't on the| from ukraine doesn't on the surface have anything to do with the war, but its director who is making his debut feature with this film believes his movie does demonstrate the resilience of ukrainians. for us, it is _ resilience of ukrainians. for us, it is important _ resilience of ukrainians. for us, it is important to - resilience of ukrainians. fr?" us, it is important to present our movie and show which kind of people exist in our country, with the passion, with the power, with the struggle, and why we have so much fighting mentality. why we have so much fighting mentality-— mentality. the cannes film festival has _ mentality. the cannes film festival has condemned i mentality. the cannes film - festival has condemned russia's invasion of ukraine. the official russian delegation was uninvited. the fact that the russian film tchaikovsky deposit wife was due to be shown has angered the ukrainian film community in cannes. even though it comes from the exiled director who has condemned the war and has sought refuge in germany. he has rejected calls for a boycott of russian film. he makes the point that all

cinemas and i war.- he makes the point that all cinemas and i war. cinema and art in general _ cinemas and i war. cinema and art in general is _ cinemas and i war. cinema and art in general is a _ cinemas and i war. cinema and art in general is a huge - art in general is a huge statement about how valuable human life is, how important human life is, how important human life is, how important human life is. it is absolutely and and i was statement. —— anti—war statement. and and i was statement. -- anti-war statement.- anti-war statement. despite resident zelensky's - anti-war statement. despite resident zelensky's film - resident zelensky's film filmmakers at cannes not to state silent over russia's invasion of ukrainians by the presence of several film from ukraine at the festival, the reality is that these things are not likely to make that much difference to what is happening with the war. what cinema is doing at cannes is getting people to drop about the war and its complexities. there has been no escape. tom brook, bbc news, cannes. we have the business coming up very shortly. we are talking about the cost of living crisis about the cost of living crisis a day after that much anticipated report from sue gray, a senior civil servant into the conduct at downing

street. the chancel is another package of measures to try to ease the cost of living crisis in the uk —— chancellor. i will have all the details coming up very soon. goodbye. 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 north and west 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 we look at where the air�*s 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�*s coming around, past iceland, so from polar regions, eventually working into northern scotland, so there'll be big temperature contrasts

across the country from north to south. now, we start off with that 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 north—west. 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 lerwick, just 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 north—westerly direction. those winds will bring plenty of showers to northern and western scotland. there'll be one or two for northern ireland, the north—west of both england and wales, but otherwise, most of you will see some spells of sunshine. in the sunshine, not feeling bad again for southern areas of uk — 20 in cardiff, 21 in london, feeling warm in the sunshine, but across the far north—west, a little on the cool side once again. now, for the weekend, high pressure is

influencing our weather, but it is moving to the north—west 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 south—west 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 bejust dropping a few degrees. so it will start to feel a little bit cooler. should still be a bit of sunshine around, but 11 in aberdeen, feeling on the chilly side, and just 1a in london.

not geri. why? -

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. emergency switch. uk households to get more help with soaring bills, paid for by a windfall tax on energy firms. the rising global cost of borrowing. more aggressive interest rate rises to come from the us federal reserve. "we don't want a uk—eu trade war," the irish prime minister tells the bbc. plus: desperate for drugs. how an economic crisis is turning into a medical emergency in sri lanka.