this is bbc news. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: as politicians consider new laws in the wake of mass shootings in america, pleas for tighter gun controls in washington. can both sides rise above? can both sides see beyond the political problem at hand and admit that we have a life preservation problem on our hands? i promise you — every tear i cry will be fuel for action. the ride—hailing app uber teams up with the un to deliver emergency food and water to war—torn ukraine. the true volume of microplastics in the antarctic uncovered for the very first time: we examine the latest evidence. and revealed to the world after three centuries: the shipwreck that could

contain billions of dollars of sunken treasure. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. three weeks after the school shooting in texas, there are signs that some very limited gun control measures could be adopted by congress. democrats have been pushing for new legislation, and now, the senate republican leader, mitch mcconnell, says he hopes for a deal addressing mental health and school security. with regard to the ongoing issue about violence, senator cornyn, as you know, is representing our side in discussions with senator murphy.

we're hoping to actually get an outcome that will make a difference in areas of mental health, school safety and things that are related to the incidents that occurred in texas and buffalo. so, what are the proposals on gun control that congress is looking at? so, here's what's on the table: enhanced background checks. further incentives for states to introduce their own red flag laws. more investment in school security. access to mental health. there is a proposal to change the background checks for people younger than 21 by opening up juvenile records to scrutiny. and this idea, which looks something like a cooling off period for 18—year—olds who want to buy a semiautomatic weapon. so, not banning them outright, but perhaps making it just that bit harder to acquire the kind of powerful weapons that were used by 18—year—old shooters in buffalo and uvalde. we've heard many people speak out in the aftermath of the shooting. the latest person is the actor matthew mcconaughey who was born in uvalde, texas, and a campaigner

for gun reform. this gun responsibility is one that we agree on more than we don't. it really is. but this should be a nonpartisan issue. this should not be a partisan issue. there is not a democratic or republican value in one single act of these shooters. there's not. but people in power have failed to act, so we're asking you — and i'm asking you — will you please ask yourselves — can both sides rise above? can both sides see beyond the political problem at hand and admit that we have a life preservation problem on our hands? relatives of victims of another mass shooting, this time by a suspected white supremacist in buffalo, new york, just ten days before the killings in uvalde, were also in washington. this is what a victim's

daughter had to say. because i came here to tell my mum's story. my mum did not deserve the death that she had, but greater than that, i promise you, that every tear i cry will be a fuel for action. i've spoken earlier to hasan piker, a political commentator who broadcasts daily to his audiences on twitch, an online streaming platform. i've asked if he thinks there is a momentum for change on gun laws. there has always been real momentum that tries to enact some kind of change with regards to gun violence in this country, but unfortunately i am a little more pessimistic than you guys over there considering that the gun manufacturers are too powerful of an industry and the gun lobby is incredibly, incredibly powerful with their lobbying efforts. though we will see. i am lobbying efforts. though we will see. iam not lobbying efforts. though we will see. i am not holding my breath, though.—

will see. i am not holding my breath, though. have heard from mitch mcconnell _ breath, though. have heard from mitch mcconnell who _ breath, though. have heard from mitch mcconnell who has - breath, though. have heard from mitch mcconnell who has his - mitch mcconnell who has his tune a little bit stop is there an appetite now for more gun control? i an appetite now for more gun control? ., �* ., control? i wouldn't say more nun control? i wouldn't say more gun control _ control? i wouldn't say more gun control or— control? i wouldn't say more gun control or at _ control? i wouldn't say more gun control or at least - gun control or at least adequate, commonsense gun safety measures, but it is probably misdirected and will focus on, i don't know, maybe offering minor concessions for things that many other comparable oecd nations are taking for granted like mental evaluations and character... character... any kind of control that allows you to basically speak for your character and allows you to demonstrate competence with a weapon is impossible to push for here in this country. you broadcast — for here in this country. you broadcast to _ for here in this country. you broadcast to hundreds - for here in this country. you broadcast to hundreds of thousands of people every day, interact with your fans and your audience. what have they been saying on this issue? fix, been saying on this issue? lot of people on the ground,

like real people, of course traumatised by the senses violence they say almost on a daily basis here. but what the people want in america and what the politicians are going to end up doing are two very different things. for the past, i would say decade, if not longer, there has been almost a complete consensus on expanding background checks in this country, to universal background checks and closing up certain loopholes like the gun show loophole or private sales, that polls around 90% i think, by latest measures it's around 85% if i'm not mistaken, and yet this is a non—starter by the republican party, they don't even consider it to be a conversation. 75% of the nra members actually want this kind of adequate legislation, and yet it's not something that the republican party is interested in pushing for, and i believe that is a obviously multifaceted problem.

part of it is because of our gun culture and part of it is because the gun lobby uses that as a very effective tool to mobilise single—issue voters. they always go out to the polls and they always vote on behalf of loosening up gun restrictions. you mentioned the nra a few times — what kind of role do they play, and is their influence as powerful as it has been over the past few decades? i thought that they were supposed to go bankrupt because they tried to get into the media business, which is treacherous, but it does seem to be still incredibly powerful. one, because they are backed by a very powerful small arms manufacturing industry, but also very powerful because, like i mentioned already, there are a lot of americans who associate their commodity consumption with their identity. it sounds weird to explainm but they basically feel —— explain, but they basically feel like a gun is very much a part of their identity. you've seen politicians

campaign on it. �*gods, guns and babies�* was a campaign slogan that only recently was mentioned in the mid terms, and in the primaries. so this is very much like a fundamental american value and the right wing and also the gun manufacturers have been able to effectively weaponise this identity as a political identity and can organise around it, so it's a little bit more complicated than just simply saying the nra is individually powerful. i think the nra drives its powerfrom being able to effectively weaponise that base of pre—existing support for guns. the bodies of some ukrainian fighters killed defending the key south—eastern port of mariupol have now arrived in kyiv. the soldiers' families say this was part of a swap with russia. more than 50 are the bodies of members of the azov regiment who died defending the azovstal steelworks. in the city of mariupol, there has also been warning

of a possible outbreak of cholera — many bodies are still believed buried under the rubble, and sewage reportedly contaminates the water supply. intense fighting is continuing in eastern ukraine with reports of civilians killed in strikes on kharkiv and other areas of the donbas. and the distribution of food from ukraine to the rest of the world continues to be a problem. russian foreign minister sergey lavrov has arrived in turkey for talks aimed at unblocking the export of grain and other agricultural products. russia has been accused of weaponising food supplies by blockading ukrainian ports, which the un says is increasing the risk of famine in parts of the developing world. meanwhile, uber has partnered with the un world food programme to help it deliver emergency food and water supplies in war—torn cities of ukraine. our technology editor zoe kleinman reports. in some parts of ukraine, it's getting harder and harder to access food and water, but in a war zone,

big delivery trucks can also be big targets, so now, the united nations world food programme is trying out a new way of delivering emergency supplies using a fleet of smaller vehicles. it's building its own delivery network using uber software and even some of its drivers. they can designate vehicles that are on board to the programme and they have got the same dispatch technology, they can track the food, etc. it essentially their own private—label uber that we built for them. it's the software behind what you see if you use uber that's been customised for the world food programme. uber usually charges big brands and supermarkets to use its delivery toolkit. this is the first time it's given it away for free and it's for humanitarian use. it's not like you can wait a month to get food to people. people have got to get food immediately. you can't go a few weeks without food, and so using their technology, using their distribution systems and dispatch systems, it really is a great success story.

uber�*s had a turbulent couple of years thanks to both covid and controversy around its driver policies. its shares are currently worth around half what they were this time last year, but its expansion into deliveries seems to be working out. i ultimately think that delivery can be bigger in scope because it's notjust about food, it's grocery and also empowering any local merchants to, in some ways, out—amazon amazon, right? if amazon can deliver the next day, your local merchant can deliver next hour or the next two hours. the meta theme is people want delivery of everything at home as quickly as possible, and we can ride that secular wave. by the end ofjune, the world food programme aims to be providing food and money to 3 million people in ukraine every month. if its uber—style network can expand to other cities, it could play a part in helping supplies get to those in need. zoe kleinman, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. the world bank has slashed its annual forecast for global economic growth, warning that

many of the less rich countries face a major recession. the causes include russia's war against ukraine and continuing effects of the covid pandemic. the bank says there's a strong risk of stagflation — low growth combined with high inflation. the police in brazil have opened a criminal investigation —— monkeypox is to be listed as a notifiable disease in england. what that means is doctors are now required to notify their local council or health protection team if they suspect a patient has the viral infection. around 30 countries where monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks with more than 900 confirmed or suspected cases so far, mainly in europe. king philippe of belgium is on his first visit to the democratic republic of congo since taking the throne nine years ago. he'll initiate the return of artefacts looted during the rule of his ancestor, king leopold ii. philippe has already voiced deep regret for the wounds of the colonial period, which saw millions of congolese

die and the country plundered. apple could be forced to change the type of charger it supplies for iphones sold in europe after the eu agreed a law to introduce a standard port. the new rules would mean new electronic devices such as mobiles and tablets have to use the same kind of usb cable. apple has previously resisted a one—size—fits all approach. north korea could conduct a seventh nuclear test at any time. that's the warning from the us special representative, sung kim, who says the north has shown no interest in returning to the negotiating table. on tuesday, the us and south korea conducted joint exercises involving around 20 warplanes over the waters around the korean peninsula. the drills come after pyongyang fired a barrage of short—range ballistic missiles from multiple locations while conducting its own tests on sunday. earlier, a senior us diplomat said there would be a swift and forceful response if north korea conducted a nuclear test.

any nuclear test would be in complete violation of un security council resolutions. there would be a swift and forceful response to such a test because, as the international atomic energy agency itself has said, there is concern that they may conduct a nuclear test. this would be very destabilising to the world's security, and i believe that not only the rok and the united states and japan, but the entire world will respond in a strong and clear manner. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the ancient shipwreck that could contain billions of dollars of sunken treasure.

the day the british liberated the falklands. and by tonight, british troops have begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the west german capital, this was gorbymania at its height. the crowd packed to see the man who, for them, has raised great hopes for an end to the division of europe. it happened as the queen moved towards horse guards parade - for the start of- trooping the colour. gunshots the queen looks worried, but recovers quickly. - as long as they'll pay to go see me, i'll get out there and kick �*em down the hills. what does it feel like to be the first man to go across the channel by your own power? it feels pretty neat. it feels marvellous, really.

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: us politicians are considering new laws in the wake of the texas shooting, including extra background checks for gun owners under 21. the ride—hailing app, uber has teamed up with the un to deliver emergency food and water to war—torn ukraine. brazilian state police have opened a criminal probe into the disappearance of a british journalist who went missing in the amazon over the weekend. dom phillips was travelling with well—known indigenous expert bruno pereira. finding them in this vast region, the size of austria is no mean feat, but it needs far

more resources than have currently been deployed. it has been three days now since they went missing. don phillips is an experienced journalist, currently researching a book on the amazon. bruno is one of result�*s foremost experts on isolated tribes and that is why the pair were here in this stunning yet troubled part of the amazon. this valley is home to the largest number of uncontacted tribes in the world but is also lawless, close to the border with peru, it is a region of conflict, illegal mining, fishing and logging as well as a drug trafficking group. bruno knew the communities here. he wanted to protect them but he also had enemies, used to get dressed, just a few days ago the team received another to stop what they were doing. indigenous communities have been the ones searching since the very beginning. translation: when the didn't beginning. translation: when they didn't arrive _ beginning. translation: when they didn't arrive on _ beginning. translation: when they didn't arrive on time, - beginning. translation: when they didn't arrive on time, we i they didn't arrive on time, we sent out a search team but they

found no trace of the boat whatsoever. then we sent a faster boat to work on a much longer stretch but it was also unsuccessful.— unsuccessful. the families of the men have _ unsuccessful. the families of the men have all— unsuccessful. the families of the men have all called - unsuccessful. the families of the men have all called for. the men have all called for more to be done. translation: evenif more to be done. translation: even if they don't find the love of my life alive, they have to be found. please enter the fight the search. the amazon _ the fight the search. the amazon may _ the fight the search. the amazon may be - the fight the search. the amazon may be beautiful but often inhospitable and as time goes on, the fears for their safety grow. a study published in new zealand has revealed for the first time the presence of microplastics in antarctic snow. researchers from the university of canterbury in christchurch have confirmed the discovery of pieces of plastic. our sydney correspondent, phil mercer, told us more. research from the university of canterbury in new zealand set “p canterbury in new zealand set up to sample fresh snowfall in antarctica or the latter part of 2019. they said they were pretty confident that they wouldn't mind any micro

plastics. they took samples from 19 locations, and they were pretty surprised with what they found because they discovered micro plastics in every location including locations near scientific bases and also more remote places too, so this is a significant moment according to those researchers, they say that this is the very first published study that can terms the presence of micro plastics in antarctica. they believe these bits of plastic debris could have flown on the air over thousands of kilometres or more likely from nearby scientific bases. the presence of people on antarctica, they believe, could have produced this micro plastics footprint, in one of the most remote and pristine areas in the world, scientists have discovered these plastic contaminants. i have discovered these plastic contaminants.— contaminants. i guess on the one hand _ contaminants. i guess on the one hand we _ contaminants. i guess on the one hand we should - contaminants. i guess on the one hand we should be - contaminants. i guess on the i one hand we should be alarmed because this is new information

about the climate and about how we are polluting the planet but also maybe we should be grateful in terms of the findings and the learnings we can get from this? sometimes bad news _ can get from this? sometimes bad news is — can get from this? sometimes bad news is necessary - can get from this? sometimes bad news is necessary news i can get from this? sometimes i bad news is necessary news and what the researchers at the university of canterbury in christchurch, new zealand are saying is that these micro plastics are much smaller than a grain of rice. they can be harmful to people if we inhale them, if we breathe them and. it can also be damaging to marine organisms if they are ingested or eaten. and a broader sense the researchers say there is a potential for these micro plastics to influence payment change stopping many of these pieces of plastic debris are dark in colour, blue or black and can absorb sunlight creating very small localised areas of heating. when researchers analysed these plastic pieces, they found more than a dozen types of plastic, the most common came from plastic soft

drink bottles and clothing, and the message is from this research team for the rest of the world is that the management of plastic, the manufacturing of plastic in the care of it when it has been finished with by consumers is of the utmost importance, so you are absolutely right, this is shining a light on a serious problem that is now affecting parts of enter car. —— antarctica. as qatar prepares to host the world cup this november, a bbc news arabic investigation has uncovered allegations that the gulf state is under—reporting the number of migrant workers who've died of heat stroke. nawal al maghafi reports. translation: we talked every day. he was always sweating when we video chatted. the heat made his nose bleed. sita's husband dhan left nepal to work in the gulf in 2015. first in saudi arabia, then qatar. but dhan never came

home to his family. in qatar, his friends found him writhing in pain and rushed him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead from cardiac arrest. translation: he came back in a box. _ a white tin. translation: it doesn't add up. in the days leading up to dhan's death, it was 40 celsius or more. a migrant worker who works continually to the point of exhaustion in 40 degrees celsius or more has a high chance of sudden death. in the last 15 years, more than 2,000 nepali workers have died in qatar alone. a recent study found that of 571 deaths over eight years due to cardiac arrest, up to 200 were probably caused by heat stress, which is preventable. mohammed al—obaidly works for the qatari department of labour, which is responsible

for migrant workers. translation: work during the summer i is completely forbidden. i must emphasise this. ifjust one worker dies, it is a big problem for us, whether it is one or 1000. he said any company making people work outside in the middle of the day could be sanctioned and compensation paid. but raising concerns can be dangerous, as a kenyan called malcolm found out. he guarded buildings owned by the qatar foundation, a charity linked to the qatar royal family. i wrote an article describing what happened. you know, just the reality of what we go through, like, on a day—to—day. my company gave me up, they handed me over to the authorities, they thought that i was working with, you know, foreign agents to spread disinformation and spoil the name of qatar and all that. for the first two weeks, i had no contact with anyone, i was blindfolded, you know,

all those things, handcuffed. after a month in solitary confinement and a $6,800 fine, malcolm is now back home in kenya. a qatar foundation spokesperson said their contractors must comply with qatar's laws. they must assess heat risk, provide cold water, shade, and breaks, and are fined if found in breach. we asked the qatar government about malcolm's case and the allegation they were underreporting heat deaths. they did not respond. with the football world cup coming up this year in qatar, all eyes will be on them to see how workers are kept safe in this ever increasing heat. nawal al maghafi, bbc news. and before we go: a tale of sunken treasure at the bottom of the ocean. colombian naval officials have found two more historical shipwrecks, close to the remains of the sanjose

galleon, a spanish ship laden with treasure that was sunk by the british in 1708. it could contain billions of dollars of gold. here's the president of colombia. translation: shipwrecks can be comletel translation: shipwrecks can be completely preserved _ translation: shipwrecks can be completely preserved and - completely preserved and protected until the respective extraction is done stopping these riches can then be made available to the world and appreciated through museum exhibitions. a reminder of our top story: three weeks after the school shooting in texas there are signs that some very limited gun control measures could be adopted by congress. the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell said he hoped both sides would find common ground for a deal addressing mental health and school security. that's just about it from me for now. you can get more news on our website.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @sipusey. from me and the team, thanks a lot for watching and do stay tuned here on bbc news. hello. umbrellas at the ready — we'll be dodging the downpours during wednesday. there's rain sweeping north and east overnight. a lot of that clears away for wednesday. that lingers in scotland, whereas elsewhere, you may get to see some sunshine. the showers will be heavy, possibly thundery with hail in places. this area of low pressure is pumping that rain north and east through the night and into the morning. it will be a very mild start in the morning. still some rain across eastern parts of england and into southern scotland. it'll be heavy in places. the eastern england rain will soon clear away, but in scotland, very slowly, the rain pushes northwards — not reaching the very far north. elsewhere, you get sunny spells and showers, some heavy, some thundery, a chance of hail. some of the beefiest ones in the afternoon could be across parts of southern scotland, into the far north of england, but with the showers dying

away from wales and the south—west into the later stages of the afternoon, a cooler day, certainly so in scotland. a windier one along the coast of wales and southern england, and for the afternoon in northern ireland, increasing cloud, some outbreaks of rain becoming more widespread. mayjust push across parts of north wales and northwest england overnight and into thursday morning. still some patchy, light rain and drizzle at this stage in scotland, though many places on thursday starting dry, not as mild. an area of low pressure, ex—tropical storm alex, moves to the northwest thursday, friday and into saturday. doesn't hit the uk, but we're close enough across north—western areas for it to become very windy for a time, especially friday—saturday. though on thursday, winds will start to pick up in the west and from that weather system, we'll see cloud and outbreaks of rain through southern and western parts of england, wales and into northern ireland. northern and eastern scotland, down the eastern side of england, a few showers, but also warm,

sunny spells around. turning very windy, particularly across the western isles on friday, some gusts 40—50 mph, blustery across scotland and northern ireland, where we'll see most of the showers. breezy for england and wales, chance of a shower, many places staying dry but rather grey and drizzly perhaps first thing on friday towards the south—east. temperatures — high teens and into the low 20s. that area of low pressure keeping things very windy on saturday in scotland and northern ireland and just easing away northwards on sunday, so the winds will begin to ease at this stage. there may still be a few lingering showers around. actually, by sunday, it looks as if many places will turn a bit cooler, whereas throughout the weekend, the warmest and the sunniest weather's going to be across south—east england. that's your forecast.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: three weeks after the school shooting in texas, there are signs that very limited gun control measures could be adopted by congress. the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell said he hoped both sides would find common ground for a deal addressing mental health and school security. the ride—hailing app uber has announced it's partnered with the un world food programme to help deliver emergency supplies to war—torn cities in ukraine. it's hoped that the customised technology will make it easier to distribute food and water using smaller vehicles and more drivers. the us special representative for korea says the north could conduct a seventh nuclear test at any time, having shown no interest in returning to the negotiating table.

the us and south korea have carried outjoint military