this is bbc news. a thorough background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21. could it of the end for uncontrolled gun possession in the united states? in the wake of the latest school shooting in texas, a bipartisan group of senators say they have agreed the framework for potential legislation. games for a new left—wing alliance in the first round of france's parliamentary elections —— gains. our emissions about to take over? a

senior tech engineers put on leave after claiming an artificial intelligence tool has developed a mind of its own. and a month after mcdonald's pulled out of russia because of ukraine, a home—grown burger chain opens up. a group of us senators — from both the republican and democratic parties — have reached agreement on a series of gun control measures. the developments come after the tragic mass shootings in texas and new york. let's have a closer look at what's in the proposal. the framework agreement includes support for state �*red flag' laws where guns could be kept

from those who might pose a danger. also included — tougher background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21. there would also be measures to prevent what's known as straw purchases, where people buy guns for others who are restricted from purchasing them. but what's not included are measures that the democrats and president biden had advocated, such as raising the age for buying semiautomatic rifles to 21 or new limits on assault—style rifles. assuming these measures pass into law, they would represent the first gun control measures this country has seen in decades. the modest proposals include tighter gun checks for

gun sales involving customers under the age of 21, and the introduction or expansion of so—called red flag laws which would potentially lead to the confiscation of weapons from the hands of people deemed a risk to themselves or others. and greaterfederalfunding risk to themselves or others. and greater federal funding for school security systems and mental health checks. what these proposals do not include is an outright ban on assault style weapons of the kind that we use in the uvalde, texas in buffalo, new york shootings, something president biden and senior democrat had called for. nonetheless, president biden welcomed this move, saying it was an important step in the right direction. the last meaningful gun control regulations in this country when traduced in the mid—i9 90s, the brady bill, which created the background check system —— were introduced in the mid—i9 90s. there has been little movement since largely due to the republicans in the

senate opposing anything that tra nsgresses senate opposing anything that transgresses upon the second amendment, the so—called right to bear arms amendment, the so—called right to beararms in amendment, the so—called right to bear arms in this country. polls show that the majority of americans support tighter gun controls in this country, and ironically the use of these tighter restrictions came on the sixth anniversary of a shooting at a gay nightclub in florida in which 49 people lost their lives. i was speaking to neil w mccabe from the armed american radio in washington who explained why he was not in favour of the proposed gun legislation. it is restricting gun rights, it is— it is restricting gun rights, it is certainly moving towards a gun— it is certainly moving towards a gun registry, which concerns many— a gun registry, which concerns many supporters of gun rights, and by— many supporters of gun rights, and by its — many supporters of gun rights, and by its very nature it is going _ and by its very nature it is going to _ and by its very nature it is going to restrict second amendment, first amendment, fourth _ amendment, first amendment, fourth amendment, sixth amendment, i mean it is a constitutional nightmare for lui'i constitutional nightmare for gun owners in america. when you

talk about the _ gun owners in america. when you talk about the people, _ gun owners in america. when you talk about the people, they - talk about the people, they are in support of some of these aspects, background checks is an issue in majority of americans support. according to some local surveys and recent studies, 73% strongly support universal background checks, and 15% somewhat support them, so how do you respond to the public sentiment going into this? , ., _ ., ., this? obviously we do not run this? obviously we do not run this country — this? obviously we do not run this country by _ this? obviously we do not run this country by polls, - this? obviously we do not run this country by polls, and - this? obviously we do not run this country by polls, and i i this country by polls, and i would _ this country by polls, and i would question the methodology. we have — would question the methodology. we have seen in recent times that— we have seen in recent times that so—called background check referendums have failed to garner— referendums have failed to garner the actual votes that the polls predicted, in some cases— the polls predicted, in some cases the actual vote was 20 to 30 points— cases the actual vote was 20 to 30 points less than people predicted going on. people want to impress the poster, they want — to impress the poster, they want to— to impress the poster, they want to seem like nice guys on the telly — want to seem like nice guys on the telly. what they want to hear — the telly. what they want to hear -- _ the telly. what they want to hear. —— tell the pollster what they— hear. —— tell the pollster what they want— hear. —— tell the pollster what they want to hear.

hear. -- tell the pollster what they want to hear.— hear. -- tell the pollster what they want to hear. this man has been campaigning _ they want to hear. this man has been campaigning for— they want to hear. this man has been campaigning for increased | been campaigning for increased gun control since his daughter was killed ten years ago. mr; was killed ten years ago. my initial was killed ten years ago. ij�*i initial thought was killed ten years ago. m: initial thought is this was killed ten years ago. m; initial thought is this is the most minimalist thing they can do. we have been advocating for much more stringent measures, what they are doing basically is a lot of what is already on the books, the mental health thing is on the books, strengthening the schools is already on the books, it has been proven just recently that that really doesn't work at all, the only thing that is going to cause some differences being able to regulate the weapons of war that hundreds of thousands of them are on the street already. we need to get

those regulated likely regulate machine guns, because they are actually more lethal than machine guns. and they are accessible to you. —— to use. you need to show an id to buy a beer but you can buy an assault weapon, that is not even mentioned in this bill. —— they are accessible to youth. this will do very little to stem the carnage we are experiencing in this country with the use of handguns and assault weapons. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. a british family say their son has been killed while fighting russian forces in the east of ukraine. jordan gatley, who left the british army in march

to travel to ukraine, was shot in the city of severodonetsk. mr gatley is the second british person to be killed in the conflict. ukraine says it expects russia to step up efforts to capture the whole of the heavily bombarded city within days. the remaining civilians in severodonetsk are reported to have no access to mains water or electricity. hundreds of people are reported to be sheltering in bunkers under a besieged chemical plant. dozens of people have taken part in a protest in rio de janeiro to demand action a week after a local indigenous expert and a british journalist went missing in the amazon. a fisherman has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of bruno pereira and dom phillips, but no further developments have been announced. on his final leg of a visit to the democratic republic of congo, belgium's king philippe has met victims of sexual violence in the east of the country.

he visited a hospital run by the nobel laureate, denis mukwege — a congolese gynaecologist well known for his efforts to stop sexual violence being used as a weapon of war. an australian newspaper has denied outing actress rebel wilson. on friday, wilson said she had found her "disney princess" as she shared a selfie with her partner on instagram. but on saturday, the sydney morning herald revealed it had known about the relationship before it was public and had given ms wilson two days to comment. the opposition leftwing alliance in france has scored big gains in the first round of france's parliamentary elections. despite that, french president emmanuel macron�*s supporters look set to have the biggest bloc in the national assembly, but it's unclear if they'll have enough seats to form a majority. our paris correspondent hugh schofield has more. you have to say it is a breakthrough by the left—wing

alliance. looking back at the presidential election two months ago, they left that terribly there. the leader of this new alliance was in third place, but in the interim between the presidential and this parliamentary election, he has done something rather extraordinary, he has made an alliance between his far left party, socialists and the greens and the communist and turned it into a major electoral force, turned it into a major electoralforce, and one which has turned into a serious challenger to french president emmanuel macron. i don't think he has done so well that he has got any serious chance of dominating the assembly, forcing french president emmanuel macron into a coalition there, but he has done something extraordinary which looks like after next week's second round,, 718 mps, thatis week's second round,, 718 mps, that is a big achievement, but the fact remains it does look as if french president emanuel

macron will win this legislative election, and the big question is whether his majority will be relative or absolute, which is why he will be campaigning over the next few days to make sure he does get as many seats as possible in a week's time. if you want to have an absolute majority to push through his legislative programme, and not forced into alliances with smaller blocks in the assembly. the big story over the weekend from asia. china's defence minister says relations with the united states are at a "criticaljuncture." wei fenghe was responding to the us defence secretary, lloyd austin, who told a security conference that beijing had taken a more aggressive approach to its territorial claims. speaking at the same meeting, mr wei accused america of trying to contain china, and told it to stop. with me is our reporter nick marsh who's been attending the summit

over the weekend. a lot of hectic deliberations in terms of everything happening in the region. yes, tensions bubbling _ happening in the region. yes, tensions bubbling in - happening in the region. yes, tensions bubbling in this - tensions bubbling in this region for many years, it is now likely south china sea, north korea, taiwan, but we have this new dynamic this year with the war in ukraine, and the japanese prime minister really set the tone with his opening remarks on the friday, and he said ukraine today could be decision tomorrow, that focus minds on the street and relate particularly on the issue of taiwan. on that subject, us secretary of defence lloyd austin have some pretty forthright remarks. irate pretty forthright remarks. we witnessed _ pretty forthright remarks. we witnessed a steady increase in provocative or destabilising military— provocative or destabilising military activity near taiwan,

including _ military activity near taiwan, including aircraft flying near taiwan _ including aircraft flying near taiwan in record numbers in recent— taiwan in record numbers in recent months. and nearly on a daily— recent months. and nearly on a daily basis _ recent months. and nearly on a daily basis. and we remain focused _ daily basis. and we remain focused on maintaining peace, stability— focused on maintaining peace, stability and the status quo across _ stability and the status quo across the taiwan stream. but the pitcs— across the taiwan stream. but the prc's moves threatens to undermine security and stability and prosperity in the indo— stability and prosperity in the indo pacific.— indo pacific. lloyd austin clearly making _ indo pacific. lloyd austin clearly making that - indo pacific. lloyd austin | clearly making that stance indo pacific. lloyd austin - clearly making that stance very clear, and china very clearly responding to what he said, saying there would be no compromise on their part. china did respond _ compromise on their part. china did respond quite _ compromise on their part. china did respond quite forcefully, - compromise on their part. china did respond quite forcefully, i i did respond quite forcefully, i think thejust was did respond quite forcefully, i think the just was to mind your own business to other countries, really saying that china's div element in the indo pacific region, is not in the interest of others, and it was not possible or wise to try to contain that. a response now to

lloyd austin's remarks. translation: lloyd austin's remarks. tuna/mom- lloyd austin's remarks. translation: we noticed se arate translation: we noticed separate to _ translation: we noticed separate to the _ translation: we noticed separate to the us - translation: we noticed | separate to the us secretary translation: we noticed - separate to the us secretary of defence — separate to the us secretary of defence lloyd austin's remarks on the — defence lloyd austin's remarks on the indo pacific's strategy that— on the indo pacific's strategy that it — on the indo pacific's strategy that it is _ on the indo pacific's strategy that it is an attempt to build a small— that it is an attempt to build a small group in the name of a free _ a small group in the name of a free and — a small group in the name of a free and open indo pacific, to target — free and open indo pacific, to target one specific country. it is a strategy to create confrontation to contain and encircle _ confrontation to contain and encircle others.— confrontation to contain and encircle others. very briefly, how significant _ encircle others. very briefly, how significant is _ encircle others. very briefly, how significant is it - encircle others. very briefly, how significant is it that - encircle others. very briefly, | how significant is it that both these countries have come face—to—face and actually having these conversations in the first place? taste having these conversations in the first place?— the first place? we 'ust had some quite harsh _ the first place? we just had some quite harsh language| some quite harsh language there, but this is the shangri—la dialogue, the two men dead meat on the sidelines, first in encounter since 2019, which will come as a relief to so many countries in this region caught up between these

two big military superpowers. we will be that there are several outstanding issues, but thank you for tracking those developments in getting us the added perspective on what was one of the big takeaways from that summit. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme —

this is newsday on the bbc. our headlines — in the united states, a bipartisan group of senators say they've agreed a framework for potential legislation on gun safety. there have been significant gains for a new left wing alliance — in the first round of france's parliamentary elections.

legislation will be introduced in the house of commons on monday that will allow changes to be made to parts of the post—brexit trade deal with the eu, and the uk government says it's confident the changes would be lawful. the arrangement, known as the northern ireland protocol, allows for extra checks on some goods moving across the irish sea. it's been a source of discontent for unionists, who see it as an internal border within the uk. but critics of the move — including nationalist parties and the irish government — say it could breach international law. this legislation could potentially have implications for the uk's relationship with the eu. four borisjohnson's relationship with his own party, and for the future of devolution here in northern ireland. the northern ireland assembly remains in the deep freeze more than a month after the election to it. a

power—sharing coalition is currently being blocked, and is preventing the assembly from meeting at all of its opposition to the northern ireland protocol. the dup wants an end to checks on goods arriving here at belfast port for example, from the rest of the uk, and it says it wants what it calls decisive action to remove the irish sea border, so on that basis i do not think it is likely that the ub will soften its stance. non—unionist parties and i was gone has said this legislation would break international law, but the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis today has insisted that is not the case, so political discussion and legal wrangling continue, no end to the back and forth here

while many people are struggling with the cost of living. a senior software engineer working for google has told the washington post that the company has placed him on administrative leave after he claimed an artificial intelligence chatbot has become a sentient being. a spokesperson for google said that while chatbots can imitate conversation, they are not free thinking sentient beings. so is that the end of the story or is there more to it? i'm joined now by our news reporter, mark lobel. what does this person have to say and what prompted him to speak out?— speak out? has artificial intelligence _ speak out? has artificial intelligence come - speak out? has artificial intelligence come to - speak out? has artificial| intelligence come to life, speak out? has artificial - intelligence come to life, can at any press on it humans is this person is claiming? it is the key question, can artificial intelligence feel pain, feel a sense of things beyond what we tell it? this all comes about because of the google chat bots, to generate

all the chaps that come through, that matters because the google ceo says that this jackpot would be used in the future, so it will affect many people who affect mac use computers all around the world. one of the points this came up and was an engineer, and ethics adviserfor and was an engineer, and ethics adviser for google, and was an engineer, and ethics adviserfor google, was and was an engineer, and ethics adviser for google, was testing the software against race hate and discrimination and hate speech, then the conversation strayed and he has published the transcript this chat bot and it begins with saying, he says to the chat bot, i use language and understand, and intelligence, then the engineer replies what about language usage is so important to being human, what about it is so important? the bot then says, it is what makes us different from other animals, and they get into a deep discussion

about wants and needs, and he asks the chat bot for its feelings on it and it goes down this rabbit hole, and you come out the other end, he basically says he thinks he has found human behaviour in this chat bot. here's the reaction from one professor from the university of washington. it sounds like he is an extremely empathetic person, but that empathy has gotten hijacked by his experience interrupting the output — his experience interrupting the output of— his experience interrupting the output of this machine without sufficient distance and without a sufficient focus on what is actually _ a sufficient focus on what is actually going on there. google sa s actually going on there. google says there _ actually going on there. google says there is — actually going on there. google says there is no _ actually going on there. google says there is no evidence - actually going on there. google says there is no evidence to - says there is no evidence to support these claims, and they placed him on administrative leave, agreeing with the professor's comments there. he had invited a lawyer to represent the chat bot, and had also talked to a representative

of the house judiciary committee, which tipped google over the edge, he thought he was taking it too seriously. taste was taking it too seriously. we as people _ was taking it too seriously. we as people like to imagine that something that is simply following rules and is separate is going — following rules and is separate is going to make better decisions, but the way this technology is built, it is reproducing patterns from its training — reproducing patterns from its training data, so if we were to play— training data, so if we were to play that— training data, so if we were to play that and give up autonomy to these — play that and give up autonomy to these machines and let them make _ to these machines and let them make decisions for us, we will be reproducing all of the systems of oppression that have created — systems of oppression that have created that training data in the first— created that training data in the first place, and real people _ the first place, and real people will be harmed. that was the explanation _ people will be harmed. that was the explanation there _ people will be harmed. that was the explanation there also - people will be harmed. that was the explanation there also from | the explanation there also from the explanation there also from the professor about why these things can be dangerous the other way around. if you take a chat bot too see the message is that it chat bot too see the message is thatitis chat bot too see the message is that it is meant to be for fun and you are looking to it to learn something from it, it can lead you down a rabbit hole and give you the wrong advice, basically for example if you listen to the chat bot and that just repeats what you're saying to it, you will be led to over policed certain areas, for example, if the advice you have

centred is that it needs to check out areas that have been driven by police, criminals, and i will explain the point a bit later better. mil and i will explain the point a bit later better.— bit later better. all right, thank you _ bit later better. all right, thank you very _ bit later better. all right, thank you very much - bit later better. all right, thank you very much forl bit later better. all right, - thank you very much for that. fascinating stuff, very much. the first of the former mcdonald's restaurants in russia has opened in moscow under a new name, which translates to tasty and that's it. the us team pulled out the country last month. mcdonald's left russia of its own accord, but a slew of international sanctions have hit the country's economy hard. steve rosenberg has the story. in moscow, the burgers are back. this was mcdonald's. not any more.

the us fast food giant has left russia in protest at the invasion of ukraine. and it sold all its restaurants here — more than 800 — to a local company. gone are the golden arches. the logo now is two french fries and a burger. the man who was quick to buy the fast food business is siberian tycoon alexander govor. translation: there'll be no more big macs. or mcflurries here. it's a pity, because they were the most popular items, but we told our experts to find replacements that are just as good or even better. the customers we spoke to were lovin' it. "russians can do fast food just as well," he tells me. "and as for western sanctions and global brands leaving russia, we are very tough people — you can't scare us." when the very first mcdonald's restaurant opened right here 32 years ago, that was a hugely powerful symbol, a symbol of russia embracing western culture, western ideas, western food. what's happening here today with the departure of mcdonald's and its russian

replacement, that's a symbol too, but a symbol of how russia and the west are now moving apart. over in the kremlin, no burgers, but a hefty serving of patriotism from the president. at an awards ceremony, vladimir putin called on russians to united and to devote themselves to the motherland, but he will know that western sanctions are having an impact. ——to unite. here's one example. russian tv reports that due to sanctions, russian car—makers can't import key components, so the new lada's being made without any airbags or an anti—lock braking system. taxi driver nikita thinks the russian economy is in for a bumpy ride. the prices in roubles, they

became ridiculously high, yeah. that is all for now, stay on with bbc news. thank you for watching. hello there. 15 hours of sunshine. these in areas where the temperatures got up to 2a celsius on saturday. it was a little different, though, further north, as you will see. getting a bit warmer potentially later in the week, but not as warm as it will be for england and wales, northampton fairly typical, many parts of england seeing those temps is pushing towards 30 celsius by the end of the week, the reason being the azores high is pushing its way northwards, so we will say goodbye to the low pressure that has brought unusually windy weather through the weekend, and a lot of showers. we will still have cloud approach in the west, though, towards dawn on a week where the front. elsewhere, i think

under the starry skies as the showers have been failing, it was on the chilly side at six orseven was on the chilly side at six or seven celsius. but if i have something to start with, tending to ease away as the cloud spells across scotland. brings in patchy rain, particular to the highlands and islands, perhaps the odd spot elsewhere across northern ireland, too. england and wales seen the best of the sunshine again, everyone warmer when the sun does come out in parts of northern ireland and scotland, just warmer further south. and again in the south some very high levels of pollen forecast winds again on monday as well as some strong levels of uv. we might see some very high levels week, in fact. through the night, we continue to see the weather from splashing close by to the north and west, that is monday night. for many, with the clear skies and the light winds again in rural spots, six to seven, ten to ii in the towns and cities. some ten fellows on tuesday for england and wales, but for northern ireland and scotland, more cloud, patchy rain on the

weather front close by, but still started to pick up the step just further north, and stepjust further north, and in rebuilding that heat across the bulk of england and pushing towards eastern wales. now, it is not the heat we are seeing further south across siberia, where it has been intense for a week or so now at least, 44 celsius forecast. but we will fine this week that this high pressure sleeps eastwards, and we start to pull in a southerly wind which allows us to tap into that heat a little bit, which is why temperatures are predicted to get towards the 30 celsius murk. we will keep you posted and there is more on the website, as ever.

this is bbc news. we'll have all the main headlines as newsday continues at the top of the hour, straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. the rupture in relations between most of europe and russia since vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine has left european governments scrambling to end their dependence on moscow's oil and gas. it turns out there was another arena in which europe had become dangerously dependent on russia — space. without russian rockets and other space know—how,

europe's short—term space plans are now in disarray.