welcome to bbc news. i'm lisa—marie misztak. our top stories: america says a russian fighterjet has forced one of its surveillance drones to crash into the black sea, using tactics that have been condemned by officials. several times before the collision, the su—27 has dumped fuel on and flew in front of the mq—9 in a reckless and unprofessional manner. tougher background checks announced on gun buying in america, as president biden tries to stop mass shootings. tropical storm freddie has killed more than 200 people in malawi and mozambique after striking for a second time. clashes in pakistan as imran khan's supporters try to stop police arresting him outside his home — a move the former pm

says is outside the law. it is not the law of the land, it is not the law of the land, it is— it is not the law of the land, it is the _ it is not the law of the land, it is the law of the jungle. and the uk's biggest horse racing festival is kicking off with stricter rules around jockeys whipping horses. the us has summoned the russian ambassador to express concern about a collision between russian fighterjets and an american drone over the black sea. washington has accused moscow of irresponsible behaviour and said the drone was involved in a routine operation in international airspace. russia denied the us claims, instead saying the drone crashed after it lost altitude while manoeuvring sharply. this was the pentagon

spokesman a little earlier. at approximately 7:03am central european time, one of the us su—27 struck the propeller —— su—27. this incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional. let's talk to our north america correspondent peter bowes. talk us through what we know at this stage. talk us through what we know at this sta . e. talk us through what we know at this staue. ., ., talk us through what we know at this stage-— this stage. the pentagon says this stage. the pentagon says this clash of _ this stage. the pentagon says this clash of the _ this stage. the pentagon says this clash of the us _ this stage. the pentagon says this clash of the us drone - this stage. the pentagon says this clash of the us drone and russian fighterjet must have quite a long time, 30—a0 minutes. it is sad the jets

intercepted the drone, dumping fuel onto it and damaging its propeller. that is when it seems the decision by essentially the remote operators of the drone was made to crush it onto the sea it was a complete loss, completely broken. we are hearing quite a word of both and different accounts as to why this happened with the russians sang, in fact the ambassador in washington saying that it was being provocative being in that area. —— saying. the american saying it had every right of being over international water in international airspace and that it was carrying out routine duties. the pentagon have not been specific as to exactly what this drone was doing and not specific in saying what its location was exactly. saying what its location was exactl . ,, . , saying what its location was exactl. ,, , ., exactly. the us has summoned the russian _ exactly. the us has summoned the russian ambassador. - exactly. the us has summoned the russian ambassador. any l the russian ambassador. any update on what has been spoken about or whether they met yet?

we do not have any details of that meeting and clearly as far as the americans are concerned, they are still in the early stages of an investigation. the question has been raised, what about the wreckage? what about those bits of the drone and in is there chance they will be retrieved? and again the pentagon sitting on the fence on that one not saying whether or not it is going to be possible or not. clearly a judgement about the operation necessary to do that will be made at and whether any information can be regained. the language of the pentagon officials have been using, directing their anger at the reckless behaviour of the pilots of the russian jets, there have been some in this country who have been rather more outspoken, blaming president putin but if this was a deliberate attempt to bring

the drone down, where in the line of command, if indeed there was an instruction given, where about it came from. thank ou ve where about it came from. thank you very much- — president biden has signed an executive order to enforce tighter rules on gun sellers, which moves the us a little closer to what might be considered universal background checks. here he is arriving at los angeles a little earlier. he made the announcement in the suburb of monterrey park, a community devastated by a mass shooting injanuary, that claimed 11 lives and injured nine other people. last year, after the mass shooting in buffalo, new york, and uvalde, texas, i signed into law, after being both places, the bipartisan safer communities act, the most significant gun safety law in almost 30 years. that was in addition to me signing more executive action to reduce gun violence than any of my predecessors, at this point in the presidency. today, i am announcing another executive order that will accelerate and intensify

this work to save more lives more quickly. first, this executive order helps keep firearms out of dangerous hands, as i continue to call on congress to require background checks on all firearms sales... cheering and applause. ..and in the meantime, my executive order directs my attorney general to take every lawful action possible to move us as close as we can to universal background checks without new legislation. it is just common sense to check whether someone is a felon, a domestic abuser, before they buy a gun. let's get some of the day's other news: the state of ohio is suing the company whose freight train derailed near the city of east palestine last month. the state's attorney general wants norfolk southern to pay for the cleanup of the toxic chemicals that were leaked. the case alleges that 58 federal and state laws were broken when more

than a million gallons of hazardous material was spilled. the greek government says rail traffic will resume gradually from next week, more than three weeks after the deadliest train crash in the country's history. 57 people were killed when a passenger train and freight train collided head—on at the end of february. the uk's chancellor of the exchequer is set to use wednesday's budget to promise a major expansion of free childcare in england, as part of a drive to encourage more people back to work. the treasury hasn't formally commented ahead of the budget. the annual rate of inflation in argentina has topped 100%, the highest level in over 30 years. argentina has been in economic difficulty for years, and three quarters of the population now live in poverty. the left—wing government has being trying to control rising prices by putting caps on the prices of food and other products. a court in romania has

rejected a bail application from the controversial influencer, andrew tate. he's been held since december, as part of an investigation into people trafficking and sexual abuse — allegations which he and his brother deny. more than 200 people are now known to have been killed in malawi, in one of the most powerful storms to ever hit southern africa. dozens of children are among the dead, and thousands of people have been left homeless. in an unusual weather pattern, it's the second time in a month that storm freddy has struck southern africa, previously hitting neighbouring mozambique and madagascar before reaching malawi, as our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. this is southern malawi. whole neighbourhoods have been swept down hillsides, washed away by the storm that won't stop. there are plenty of houses, plenty of houses, but they are all gone.

here in blantyre, malawi, grieving relatives queue outside hospitals, waiting to identify the dead. rescue workers already grappling with a cholera outbreak, are entirely overwhelmed. cyclone freddy first hit mainland africa last month, but instead of petering out as expected, it swerved back out to sea, picked up more strength, then headed back to shore, tearing through one of the poorest corners of the continent. in the hospital where i am speaking from at the moment, they've had around 119 deaths. at least half of those of children and the residents where the mudslide was said that there were an awful lot more people buried in the mud. so i think this is going to get worse as we get a fuller picture of what's going on. freddy first took shape off the coast of distant australia.

it's since become one of the longest and most powerful storms on record. only four storms have made the journey all the way across the indian ocean from australia to africa. so this is really unusual. now, as for climate change, will it make long—lasting storms like this more common? that is really unclear. but we know in a warmer world we expect more rainfall, more flooding. so the impacts will get worse. right now, this region needs urgent help. tens of thousands of people are homeless and the full extent of the destruction caused by the relentless cyclone freddy is not yet clear. andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. going back to an earlier story. about president but i didn't

control laws. i want to start by saying, what are your thoughts on this new announcement by president biden signing this new executive order? i signing this new executive order? ~ , ., order? i think it is a wonderful— order? i think it is a wonderfulthing. . order? i think it is a i wonderfulthing. less order? i think it is a - wonderful thing. less guards order? i think it is a _ wonderful thing. less guards on the street equals less gun crime, less violent so it is something i welcome. this crime, less violent so it is something i welcome. as a servin: something i welcome. as a serving police _ something i welcome. as a serving police officer, - something i welcome. as a serving police officer, whatj serving police officer, what difference does it make on the ground? fin difference does it make on the round? ., , ground? on the ground it 'ust means there i ground? on the ground it 'ust means there will i ground? on the ground it 'ust means there will be i ground? on the ground it 'ust means there will be less h ground? on the ground itjust l means there will be less guards out there and like i said before, we welcome less guards because there is less gun violence. because there is less gun violence-— violence. gun control is a contentious _ violence. gun control is a contentious issue - violence. gun control is a contentious issue in - violence. gun control is a contentious issue in the i violence. gun control is a i contentious issue in the us, people arguing for and again stricter controls of the rules. what is your assessment of what needs to be done to tackle gun violence? mi;

needs to be done to tackle gun violence?— needs to be done to tackle gun violence? g . ,, ,, , _, violence? my assessment is you would have _ violence? my assessment is you would have to _ violence? my assessment is you would have to get _ violence? my assessment is you would have to get rid _ violence? my assessment is you would have to get rid of - violence? my assessment is you would have to get rid of more i would have to get rid of more guards but this is definitely a step that i welcome. definitely a step that i welcome. this step that i welcome. definitely a step that i welcome.- a step that i welcome. as a olice a step that i welcome. as a police officer _ a step that i welcome. as a police officer in _ a step that i welcome. as a police officer in new - a step that i welcome. as a police officer in new york l a step that i welcome. as a i police officer in new york with high gun rates across the country but particularly in new york, white is the work you do to tackle what is being done now? ~' , . , now? like i said, it starts with gun _ now? like i said, it starts with gun control, - now? like i said, it starts with gun control, it - now? like i said, it starts with gun control, it starts with gun control, it starts with that and maybe we raise the age on when people can get guns, right now it is 21, may be 25 when people are more responsible. this is a good start. i commend the president for this start.— for this start. imagine you welcome _ for this start. imagine you welcome the _ for this start. imagine you welcome the new- for this start. imagine you welcome the new changes for this start. imagine you - welcome the new changes but do you think this will have a real

impact on all sectors of society? for example for racial groups having to register and get gun controls, how do you think it will impact the population? i think it will impact the population?— think it will impact the --oulation? ., ~ ., population? i do think that these well _ population? i do think that i these well disproportionately had african—americans on getting guards and so on one hand i am not fight because in america you have a criminal justice system where more blacks are being arrested than whites so that premise is based on criminal record, you will have inaudible another portion of society. in that aspect i see it as a floor for the african—american community but as a whole, as america as a whole, i see it as a plus. thank you very much for your time. ., ~' ,,

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the uk's biggest horse racing festival is kicking off with new rules around how often jockeys can use whips. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal- in the middle - of the cabinet here. now, this was an - international trophy, and we understand - now that the search for it has become an - international search.

above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the us says a russian fighterjet has forced one of its surveillance drones to crash into the black sea using tactics that have been condemned by officials let's stay with that story now. i'm joined now by larry korb, who is a retired navy flight officer and former united states assistant secretary of defense. thank you for taking the time to come on the programme. how uncommon is it for one air vehicle to strike another? it vehicle to strike another? it is uncommon but not uncommon

for planes from different countries like the united states and russia who are traditional competitors for a long time to fly near each other to send a message. the russians scrambled when the repo was coming close to russia and they launched their attack on ukraine and it was set up there. to send a message. the question is whether they told to do things like dump fuel or to do things like dump fuel or to hit its propellers?- to hit its propellers? could this potentially _ to hit its propellers? could this potentially have - to hit its propellers? could this potentially have been | to hit its propellers? could l this potentially have been an accident. john kirby said that there have been some intercepts in the last few weeks. i there have been some intercepts in the last few weeks.— in the last few weeks. i think it probably — in the last few weeks. i think it probably was. _ in the last few weeks. i think it probably was. i _ in the last few weeks. i think it probably was. i cannot - in the last few weeks. i think it probably was. i cannot see| it probably was. i cannot see the siding at this time, given

what is happening in ukraine, to spark an incident which would give the united states the ability to send its own planes into the war in ukraine. as a former us assistant secretary of defence, what is your assessment of what might happen next? the your assessment of what might happen next?— happen next? the real question is what will _ happen next? the real question is what will happen _ happen next? the real question is what will happen the - happen next? the real question is what will happen the next - is what will happen the next time we send up a repos? what will russia do? and as admiral kirby said, they have had a lot of these intercepts for quite a while so i suspect that we will send a reaper upjust while so i suspect that we will send a reaper up just as we had scheduled before and see what happens. if scheduled before and see what ha ens. ., scheduled before and see what hauens. ., ., ,, , happens. if nothing happens we will chalk it — happens. if nothing happens we will chalk it up _ happens. if nothing happens we will chalk it up to, _ happens. if nothing happens we will chalk it up to, well, - will chalk it up to, well, these things happen. you may remember a chinese and american planes hit each other back in the bush administration, there

was a surveillance plane and the chinese were trying to monitor it and as i can recall from my days up there you are moving pretty fast in the slightest mistake can cause an accident. ,, ., , ., ,~' ., accident. the us has asked for the russian — accident. the us has asked for the russian ambassador- accident. the us has asked for the russian ambassador to - accident. the us has asked for the russian ambassador to be | the russian ambassador to be called. what do you expect will happen in that conversation that they might have? the united states _ that they might have? the united states will - that they might have? tie: united states will make that they might have? tte: united states will make it clear that if this is the beginning of a new pattern there will be severe consequences. basically, i think that is the message that they will send in the russians claim it was just an accident and nobody really dumped anything, the fact of the matter is it could have been a renegade pilot who decided he is tired of what is happening with his fellow citizens being wounded or killed. thank you very much for your time.

police and pakistan have used tear gas and water cannon to disperse supporters of the opposition leader imran khan from outside his residence in the city of lahore. the clashes broke out after police officers arrived, reportedly to arrest the former prime minister following a warrant issued by a court. he faces allegations that he incorrectly declared gifts received from foreign dignitaries. he says the case is politically motivated. our correspondent has been speaking to the former prime minister who said he is ready to face jail time. what have you seen and heard today? i have been following everything from here. first of all the attack came. the police came in. without any knowledge. i mean, certainly we saw news that the police were coming to arrest me. and we didn't have that many workers. so they immediately tried to remove the workers. so, they then stood their ground. and then there was the first water cannons, then this

tear gas shelling. and inside my house, i mean, we were all... we had all eyes smarting, and we were, sort of, washing ourfaces because it came right inside the house. so, now there is a lull. they are gathering more force. i'm more mentally prepared that i'm going to be spending my night in a cell. god knows how many nights, but i'm all prepared for that. but i think they're determined this time they want me behind bars. so why are you resisting arrest when the police are coming now? we had taken bail, protective bail, till the 18th. so, on 1ath, there was no reason why they should have come to arrest me. and the worry is that this is not... this is all what i would want in pakistan is rule of law. and rule of law means, simply, whoever breaks the law should be punished. now, whether it is someone in my party or someone against me or opponent,

they should all be subject to the law of the land. the law of the land says that there is an arrest warrant out for you, that you are resisting. so are you not following the law of the land? it is not the law of the land, because i had a protective bail to the 18th. they've come four days earlier. it's not the law of the land. it's the law of the jungle. a public swimming pool in britain as being heated by a small datacentre the a washing machine. the project in devon believed to be a first for the uk is saving the council run leisure centre thousands of pounds in energy costs asjenny kumar reports. this bull and xmas is the first in the country to use a pioneering technology to heat the water and cut down on carbon emissions. and this is where the magic happens. here it is. this is a deep green unit where

the computers immersed in oil. so when you put stuff in the cloud it could end up in a datacentre like this. we all rel on datacentre like this. we all rely on the _ datacentre like this. we all rely on the cloud _ datacentre like this. we all rely on the cloud in - datacentre like this. we all rely on the cloud in our- rely on the cloud in our everyday life and the trouble is that computers and those data centres that run the cloud generate enormous amounts of heat. so data centres need to get rid of that heat somehow. most of the time it is thrown into the atmosphere. this system is different where we immerse the computers in oil and then flow that oil into a heat exchange for free hot water. , . .,, , heat exchange for free hot water. , . , ., ., water. energy costs have gone throu~h water. energy costs have gone through the — water. energy costs have gone through the roof. _ water. energy costs have gone through the roof. exmouth - water. energy costs have gone through the roof. exmouth say that like businesses _ through the roof. exmouth say that like businesses around . through the roof. exmouth say| that like businesses around the country it is had to deal with astronomical rises in energy bills. they have gone up to 18,000 to 80,001 year. they say this new technology will bring them big savings. we this new technology will bring them big savings.— this new technology will bring them big savings. we hope that this will bring _ them big savings. we hope that this will bring a _ them big savings. we hope that this will bring a significant - this will bring a significant reduction in our gas cost. 50, 60% so a0 or reduction in our gas cost. 50, 60% so 40 or £50,000 reduction in our gas cost. 50, 60% so a0 or £50,000 year of

savings. 6096 so 40 or £50,000 year of savinas. ~ ., ., , savings. we need to do this, particularly _ savings. we need to do this, particularly in _ savings. we need to do this, particularly in the _ savings. we need to do this, particularly in the current - particularly in the current claimant as well and with pools shutting all over the country. it sounds excellent. if it saves bills and brings down bills, fine. it saves bills and brings down bills, fine-— bills, fine. it is a good idea because — bills, fine. it is a good idea because it _ bills, fine. it is a good idea because it is _ bills, fine. it is a good idea because it is very - bills, fine. it is a good idea because it is very cold - bills, fine. it is a good idea i because it is very cold getting in yesterday morning, i squealed. in yesterday morning, i squealed-— in yesterday morning, i squealed. in yesterday morning, i siuealed. ., , squealed. the governing body, swim england _ squealed. the governing body, swim england has _ squealed. the governing body, swim england has warned - squealed. the governing body, swim england has warned that| swim england has warned that more than 100 pools across the country are under threat of closure because of higher running costs. the sector has welcomed the announcement today of £63 million of government funding to help. the funding is brilliant and helpful and it will help us invest in additional technology as well as the deep green technology. things such as heat source pumps so we can move away from gas entirely within a year or two. ,, gas entirely within a year or two, ,, ., gas entirely within a year or two. ,, ., ,., ., , two. seven other pools in england _ two. seven other pools in england have _ two. seven other pools in england have also - two. seven other pools in england have also signed | two. seven other pools in i england have also signed up two. seven other pools in - england have also signed up to the heating scheme used here. the company behind it feel they are offering an innovative solution that can help give the

nation's leisure centres financially afloat. around one quarter of a million people are expected at the uk's cheltenham festival this week. what's new this year are the rules on how much the jockeys can use their whips during the four days of racing. andy swiss reports. and they're off! the first race of the day, to get through the turnstiles as fans and, of course, horses descended on cheltenham. this quiet corner of the cotswolds one again the centre of the racing world. the cheltenham festival is often described as the olympics ofjump racing. for the jockeys riding here it is always a challenge, but this year, how they ride is under the spotlight. rules on the number of times jockeys can use the whip have been tightened and serious breaches could mean disqualification. ultimately we wanted the jockeys to think more carefully about how they use the whip. it is not a welfare issue, it is about engagement in the sport,

and it's about fairness. come the big race, though, the focus was on the sport's new wonder horse, constitution hill, the hot favourite for the champion hurdle and he lived up to his billing with the most emphatic of victories. but the days most special win was this. rachel blackmore on honeysuckle, the horse's last race before retiring and what a way to go out. for trainer henry du bromhead, whose sonjack died in a riding accident last year, it was a most poignant victory. it is massive. we know jack is always with us and i am sure he was there on rachel's shoulder and, you know, she has been a huge part of our life and hejust adored her. so, i think, she did it for him as much as all of us. andy swiss, bbc news, cheltenham. that's all for now.

you can reach me on twitter, i'm @lmmisztak. hello. this week, we've got some very big swings in temperatures from one day to the next. yesterday, widely, we had temperatures double figures, whereas today, it's been about 9 celsius colder than that. for example, boulmer, 1a yesterday, just five this afternoon — now, that's a drop. temperatures has brought with it much colder air, and in turn, we've seen some snowfall over the staffordshire moors again here and here at low levels in the carlisle area. so, across parts of northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england, we have seen some snow getting down to quite low elevations, risk of a few showers pushing across the midlands, east anglia, south east england, but clearing later in the night with clear skies then following,

well, we are looking at a widespread and sharp frost in our towns and cities. temperatures widely between —2 and —6 celsius, and where we've seen those showers, there is a risk of some icy stretches to start the day on wednesday. otherwise, it should be a fine start with lots of sunshine. now, in the west, we'll see cloud quickly thicken in northern ireland, outbreaks of rain spreading in here. you might even see a little bit of snow just on the forward edge of this weather system. but ultimately, the air is turning milder in northern ireland, so any snow will be transient, it will turn back to rain. however, during wednesday evening time, we could well see some more troublesome snowjust for a time across parts of northern england and scotland. the snow potentially could come down to quite low elevations, but it's across the hills and particularly to the north of the central belt, where we'll probably see the snow lasting longest. but as we go through wednesday night, again, we are going to see milder air push in from the southwest, so by the end of the night,

most places will have temperatures above freezing. now, for thursday, friday and the weekend beyond, this area of low pressure is going to be in charge, the weather unsettled, and with those south—westerly winds feeding in, it will be turning a lot milder. that milder air will be arriving for most parts of the united kingdom on thursday, although it will be accompanied by brisk winds and some heavy outbreaks of rain. temperatures will be climbing to around 12—1a degrees pretty widely, so very mild for the time of year. but the cold air hasn't quite left our shores — lerwick, just three celsius. through friday, generally it is going to be on the mild side with outbreaks of rain at times, but the cold air never far away across the north of scotland, and there are signs it could start moving southwards again early next week.

this is bbc news. the headlines: america says a russian fighterjet has forced one of its surveillance drones to crash into the black sea, using tactics that have been condemned by officials. washington and moscow giving different accounts of what occurred at sea.— different accounts of what occurred at sea. the russian ambassador _ occurred at sea. the russian ambassador calling - occurred at sea. the russian ambassador calling it - occurred at sea. the russian ambassador calling it a - ambassador calling it a provocation. president biden has signed a new executive order on gun control, to try to reduce the number of mass shootings in the united states. at the moment, the rules vary from state to state. the president made the announcement at the site of a mass killing in california. tropical storm freddie has

killed more than 200 people in malawi and mozambique after striking for a second time.