welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm monica miller. the headlines... a war of words between russia and ukraine, after moscow claims this unverified footage shows a drone targeting and exploding over the kremlin. a 13—year—old boy in serbia is accused of shooting dead eight children and a security guard at a school. and could this be a breakthrough in the battle against alzheimer's? a new drug appears to significantly slow down the progress of the disease. as rehearsals continue for the coronation of king charles iii, police warn of swift action against any protestors on the big day.

live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in moscow — where russia has accused ukraine of trying to assasinate president vladamir putin. ukraine says it had nothing to do with the incident in which a drone was seen flying over the kremlin before a small explosion. presdeint zelensky said kyiv only fought russia on ukrainian territory. our russia editor steve rosenberg sent this report from moscow. flying in from the left, what appears to be a drone. then an explosion over the kremlin. this footage is unverified, but the kremlin says that

overnight, two drones targeted the residence of the president. moscow blames ukraine, but says that no—one was injured. on russian state tv, a dramatic start to this talk show. the presenter announces breaking news. "there's been an attempt," he says, "to assassinate putin." in daylight down at the kremlin, we couldn't see any obvious signs of the explosions. lots of questions remain unanswered about what happened here last night. who launched the drones, with what aim? ukraine has denied involvement. if this was, as the kremlin claims, a ukrainian drone attack, an attempt to kill the president in the very heart of moscow, that is hugely embarrassing for the authorities here. after all, where was the security? this is supposed to be one of the most heavily—guarded seats of power in the world. last weekend, russia accused ukraine of launching a drone strike on a fuel depot

in russian—occupied crimea. days later, bombs detonated and derailed two freight trains in a part of russia near the ukrainian border. citing security concerns, several russian regions have already cancelled military parades planned for the 9th of may, victory day, when russians mark the defeat of nazi germany. for now, the kremlin continues to insist that the big red square parade in moscow will go ahead despite last night's explosions. but there is a nervousness here. you can feel it. red square has been closed to the public since the end of april. that is unusual, and reflects the sense of unease. more than 1a months since the kremlin launched its full—scale invasion of ukraine, the war is feeling much closer to home.

that report from our russia editor steve rosenberg. i spoke to melinda haring, in washington, who is the nonresident fellow at the atlantic council's eurasia centre. i asked whether this is an embarassing moment for president putin. look, the ukrainians have flat—out denied it, both zelensky and his spokespeople have denied it, and they say it doesn't make any sense. a lot of people are saying that it looks like it's a false—flag operation — we don't know, though. the leading theory right now is that the kremlin may have been involved in order to justify some hits on ukraine. but we simply don't know at this point, the us government doesn't know either who's responsible. i mean, wejust heard from steve rosenberg in his piece that russia is saying that ukraine is responsible for an explosion at a fuel depot. also, there was a derailment and strike on two trains very close to the border. is ukraine possible of doing

something like this? monica, a lot of the activity that we're seeing are probably shaping activities — ukraine is getting ready to launch a counteroffensive. we don't know when they're going to do it, they haven't shared intelligence with anyone — for good reasons. but they're getting the battleground ready, and they're trying to unnerve the russians. so we're seeing fuel depots, we're seeing all sorts of unusual activity. we don't know when this counteroffensive will start, but that's likely what we're seeing. so you're saying that we may see a even bigger attack from ukraine in the nearfuture? right now, the ukrainians are worried about vladimir putin striking kyiv tonight. so i think it's 1am in the morning in kyiv now, and there were a lot of warnings as people were getting ready to go to bed, and concerns that putin is really going to come after ukraine. we saw big, relatively large missile strikes over the past two days,

and we hadn't seen that for weeks and weeks. so both sides are nervous right now. moving on to serbia now — eight children and a security guard have been killed in a school shooting in the capital, belgrade. police arrested a 13—year—old boy in connection with the attack at a school in the centre of the city. three days of national mourning have been declared. from belgrade, bethany bell reports. a 13—year—old boy is led away by police. he's the main suspect in a mass shooting at one of the best schools in belgrade. he came to school with two guns. he fired at the security guard and three girls standing in the hallway. translation: i was walking up the stairs and while i was - walking up i could hear a sound, and i thought it was maybe boys, some kids throwing firecrackers and that they were having fun. but then i could hear it closer, and the sound was coming from in front of the school.

and then i saw the security guard falling to the ground, so i quickly ran from where i was. i didn't want to go upstairs any more. i didn't know who was up there. he then walked into a history class where he shot the teacher before turning his weapon on his fellow students. police say the shooter planned the attack a month in advance and had drawn up a list of children to target. the 13—year—old has been put in a specialist psychiatric facility. he is alleged to have used two guns belonging to his father. both his parents have since been arrested. all day, people have come to pay their respects to those who were shot. there is a deep sense of shock and sadness here. this is normally a lively part of town, but the people who live here say it's never felt so quiet. they are struggling to understand how a day at school turned into a nightmare. with candles and flowers,

this city is mourning its dead. bethany bell, bbc news, belgrade. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. political parties have been making their final pitch to voters on the last day of campaigning for local elections across england. they are set to visit battleground areas before polls open on thursday, to elect around 8,000 councillors and four local mayors. the polls will decide who will run services in 230 local councils. but they are also being closely watched as a key test of public opinion before the general election expected next year. the uk's financial watchdog is planning to make it easierfor companies to list their shares on the london stock exchange, rather than in new york or elsewhere. the financial conduct authority says it wants to scrap premium listing requirements which can deter start—ups and newer companies.

it says the move will make the uk more competitive with stock markets abroad. an animal welfare charity has taken the uk government to court in an effort to end the practice of breeding so—called "frankenchickens". up to 90% of chickens sold in the uk are reared through intensive selective breeding. this means the fast gowing poultry can be brought to market much sooner. the charity says their rapid growth can cause severe health problems for the birds such as leg deformities, organ failure, and heart attacks. protesters who try to disrupt the coronation of king charles can expect "very swift action" from police who will have "an extremely low threshold" when it comes to dealing with them. that was the word from a senior british police officer, one of almost 30,000 officers who'll take part in the security operation surrounding the event this weekend.

the security update follows an incident when officers arrested a man after items — thought to be shotgun cartridges — were thrown into the grounds of buckingham palace. here's our uk affairs correspondent daniel sandford. being led away from buckingham palace in handcuffs, the man suspected of throwing shotgun cartridges over the gates and then being found with a lock knife in his bag. he remains in custody. explosion what the hell was that? police officers carried out a controlled explosion on his backpack, but said they're not treating the incident as terrorism. it was a reminder of the stakes on saturday, when kings, queens and presidents from around the world all gather for the coronation. hundreds of thousands of people are expected to be in the crowds. the metropolitan police are describing it as one of the most significant security operations that the force has ever led, with more than 29,000 officers

deployed at some point over the coronation period. as during the queen's funeral, there'll be armed officers on rooftops. mi5 and the police have been identifying terrorists and people with royal fixations, who may pose a threat. the work that's gone on between the metropolitan police and other police forces around the united kingdom and, of course, our intelligence services to make sure we know as much as possible what's going on and where incidents could occur has been a huge effort. as the rehearsal overnight showed, there'll be thousands of military personnel involved, who will also need protection. police are considering using live facial recognition technology to help identify known suspects. not my king! anti—monarchist groups like republic have been sent letters, warning them of new protest laws that came into force this week, and the police said only lawful

demonstrations would be allowed. we have an extremely low tolerance for anything or anyone who comes to disrupt this event, and what they will find is a very swift and very quick action from us to make sure that everyone can carry on celebrating, without interference or interruption. but human rights groups believe the series of laws passed in recent years have had a chilling effect on how demonstrations are policed. the policing of the coronation is shaping up to be _ a human rights nightmare, with protesters being - threatened with letters, new laws being rushed i through and the police today confirming that they intend i to use facial recognition - technology during the policing of the coronation. the king was in westminster abbey for a rehearsal of the service today, as a painter put the final touches to the railings outside, and the police prepared for one of their greatest ever security challenges. daniel sandford, bbc news, at westminster abbey.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. picking out offered an outfit for the prom. a mum and daughter well aware ofjust how much an outfit can set people back. hundreds. you even see them second—hand online for hundreds and when you are struggling to pay bills it is a real... she gasps it is that moment when you look and you think, you want it to be right, so i think this is a really lovely thing to do. people can come along and take away a donated dress, forfree. it is run by charity which identified a desperate need. some children can't go to the prom because they cannot afford it, or because their parents are getting into debt, or i have had phone calls from people who have been harassed by doorstep moneylenders, and all of the awful ways that they get money back, so it is donejust to stop that, just to make sure that the prom is inclusive and everybody can go.

last year they helped almost 500 people with dresses. this year, they hope to help even more. you're live with bbc news. the un secretary—general has called on the warring factions in sudan to stop the fighting before the conflict escalates into an all out war. the comments come as the final flight carrying british nationals wanting to escape the fighting in sudan took off, ahead of a new seven—day ceasefire between warring military factions. our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. in the war—torn centre of khartoum, in a bullet—riddled apartment, a terrified family of four. now, during the shooting, me and the kids would stay here because it's the safest area for us to stay. seen here in earlier, calmer

times, widower mohamed salman and his three young children. we had the army behind us and the rsf in front of us, and they were shooting at each other, and we were in the middle. so that was the hardest point of the whole situation. we laid down. i was talking to them constantly, explaining that we were quite safe here. "look, we're on the ground, nothing's happening to us." i'm not going to turn round to my children and say, "we're in danger." for ten days, mohamed races out to find water. he's a dual british—sudanese national whose wife died three years ago. being a single—parent household, i couldn't take my kids out with me, obviously, because it's a war zone. and at the same time, i couldn't leave them behind me, because they were panicking every time i wanted to leave the house. finally, the family make a run for it through khartoum's devastation. this is some of the damages. wow!

first, they reach a neighbourhood controlled by sudan's regular army. we finally are amongst the army, our people, and feel safe. and then on, to join the crowds hoping to be airlifted out by british forces. after their ordeal, ii—year—old sadiq is ill. he and his sisters don't have british passports, but their father's is enough to get them onto the plane. relief on every face. within hours, the family reaches cyprus. and then, an emotional reunion in london gatwick. mohamed's brother waiting at arrivals. it is bittersweet. all my work, all my business, everything is back in sudan. but i do plan to leave my kids here. they're quite happy about it.

they're experiencing things they haven't experienced before. and swapping the chaos of warfor a quiet street in liverpool. andrew harding, bbc news. it's the most common form of dementia — alzheimer's — and there is currently no cure for it. but there is now hope there could soon be new drugs to treat it. after major clinical trials, an experimental drug has been shown to slow down the progress of the disease significantly. our medical editor fergus walsh has the details. after decades of failed trials there are now two antibody drugs which can slow early stage alzheimer's disease. the latest one is donanemab, which is given as a monthly infusion. it works by clearing a rogue protein called amyloid, which builds up in sticky clumps in the brains of alzheimer's patients. in a trial, it slowed cognitive

decline by around 35% over 18 months in a group of nearly 1,200 patients with early—stage alzheimer's, the best results reported so far. but there were some serious side effects. at least two volunteers died as a result of brain swelling. now, in november, another antibody treatment called lecanemab was the first drug ever to show it could slow the progress of alzheimer's disease. dementia researchers say we're now entering a new era where alzheimer's is treatable. we really see that we're at a revolutionary point in how we treat alzheimer's disease. so what we now need, when we have the full results, is for the regulators to make quick decisions so that patients that could benefit from these treatments are able to benefit. now we don't know how much donanemab will cost, but lecanemab is over £20,000 a year per patient in the us, where it's already licensed.

dementia specialists say we'll need a complete overhaul of alzheimer's services here, including access to specialist brain scans if patients are to benefit from these new drugs. a fishing community in the north east of england is struggling to survive after local crabs, lobsters, and prawns have died in huge numbers over the past two years, leading to warnings of a crisis amongst those who rely on the sea for their livelihoods. charities have stepped in to provide financial and mental health support to fishermen and their families. fiona trott reports. they learned this from their fathers and grandfathers. fishing defines these men, and it defines the community. a career and an identity they say has been lost.

it's now so severe that this uk charity is stepping up its support. it offers financial grants and advice. so the money what i've paid in there, what i'm paying for fuel, is not going home. how are your family doing? nah. i don't even want to talk about it. i said, "what's it doing to yourfamily?" and that acted as a trigger, and he said, "don't want to talk about it" and walked away. you know, i feel bloody awful. we're hearing about fishermen in the north—east who are contacting the fishermen�*s mission, contacting other charities, and talking about their mental health, talking about the fact that they are seriously contemplating their continued existence in the world. this is why the fishermen are suffering. thousands of dead crabs and lobsters were washed up on the northeast coastline in 2021. they say wash—ups continue today. many of them believe dredging work around teesside's new freeport was to blame. a defra—appointed panel said that was unlikely, and it was about as likely as not that a new disease or parasite was the cause. i've seen the probabilities

and the possibilities. i would just like somebody to be able to say, yes, this is what happened, nobody has. they need a solution, because something new is happening in these waters. prawn catches are also down by up to 90%. what's happening at the teesport can only be good for the area, and i have no problem with that whatsoever. what i don't think is that some of us should have to suffer. if that's the case, then we should receive help for it. so they're carrying out their own research. fishermen and scientists working together, looking for answers to the questions they still have. defra said to the fishermen right at the start of the die—off, if you want to find your evidence, you've got to find the evidence yourself, and that's exactly what we are doing. we are going to create a full picture of what the chemical risk is in terms of the north sea, and we're going to relate that back to the dredging

activity, and we're going to see what that connection is. if there is a connection, the fishermen say they'll seek government compensation. defra says it is not offering support following the crustacean deaths, and provides millions of pounds through the fisheries and seafood scheme, and the uk seafood fund. we can provide for some financial support, we can provide some practical support... so for now, part of this historic fishing community is doing something it never thought it would — asking for help in order to survive. fiona trott, bbc news, hartlepool. let's go now to australia — where the remains of a man who went missing on a fishing trip have been found inside two crocodiles. 65—year—old kevin darmody went missing in far north queensland over the weekend. after a two—day search of the area, police euthanised two large crocodiles before finding human body parts.

earlier i spoke to our correspondent in australia phil mercer, and asked just how common these crocodile attacks are. in the state of queensland, monica, extremely rare. since record—keeping began back in the mid—1980s, there's only been over a dozen fatal attacks. what we do know about kevin darmody is that he was fishing with friends in far northern queensland, on cape york over the weekend. his friends didn't see the attack, but they certainly heard it — they heard a yell and a very large splash, and this was a group fishing along the river bank, when they got to the scene, the missing man wasn't there, but the only thing that was left were his shoes, his flip—flops. and the authorities, over the course of the next 2a hours, hunted down two large crocodiles — one was three metres, one was four metres, both were shot dead and human remains were found inside one of those large reptiles. but wildlife authorities believe that both crocodiles

were involved in this fatal attack. phil, mr darmody was an experienced fisherman, so do we know what exactly provokes a crocodile to want to eat someone alive? crocodiles are a direct link to our prehistoric past. it's estimated they've been on the planet for 65 million years, they have evolved to be almost the perfect predator. they are patient, they are cunning, and they are stealthy. and some research estimates they can hold their breath up to eight hours. so it's not really a question of provoking these animals — they are always there in those rivers and creeks, and water holes in tropical northern australia, and the advice is to stay away from waterways. but of course, if you're on a fishing trip, you're not doing that, so the authorities do say that people should take extreme caution around

waterways in tropical northern australia at night, dusk, and dawn when these fearsome predators, the world's largest reptiles are at their most active. phil, briefly before we go, i know that the crocodile population has increased substantially — what is the reason for this? well, hunting was outlawed in australia in the mid—1970s, and since that time, saltwater crocodiles, the world's largest reptiles, have been a protected species, and their populations have well and truly rebounded. phil mercer there and australia. more now on preparations for the coronation of king charles this weekend. big ben is being lit up every night between now and sunday to mark the coronation, with the colours of the union flag and the national flowers of all four home nations. hundreds of soldiers, many on horseback, marched down from buckingham palace past

trafalgar square and downing street to westminster abbey. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. many of us had some beautiful late spring sunshine on wednesday. in fact, in bournemouth, there was just over 13 hours of sunshine, a glorious day. but top temperature, well, that was in south wales, in gwynedd, just shy of 20 celsius, and it felt very pleasant indeed. now it's not out of the question that we could see 20 celsius on thursday, but the weather story is certainly on the change with low pressure starting to move in from the southwest. so as we go through the day on thursday, it's a tale of three halves, really — we've got cloud driving in off the north sea, affecting eastern england and northeast scotland. we've got rain pushing into the southwest — and sandwiched in between the two, that's where the best of the sunshine is likely to be, and that's where we'll

see the best of the warmth. the breeze still coming from an east direction, so with exposure, that's just going to add a slight edge to things. a little more shelter, it'll feel pleasant enough with highs of 19—20 celsius perhaps in the southeast. now, as we move out of thursday into friday, that weatherfront will continue to push its way steadily north. it'll bring outbreaks of rain as it does so, and then, following on behind, plenty of showers to come. so on friday, we'll see a spell of more persistent rain moving out of northeast england, into scotland. sunny spells and scattered showers tucking in behind. some of those showers could be heavy, slow—moving, with the odd rumble of thunder. now, not everybody will see the showers, but because the winds are slightly lighter coming from a southwesterly direction, maybe those showers might hang around for a little bit longer. still a cool easterly, making it feel fresher in scotland, but highs likely of 18 celsius by friday afternoon. now, as we move into the start of the weekend, that southwesterly wind will drive that milder air further north for all of us.

but unfortunately, it'll also bring some wetter weather. so this is saturday, coronation day — you can see that wet weather moving its way across the capital and steadily north as we go through the day. so not a wash—out by any means, but at the moment, it does look likely that during the morning, there will be outbreaks of rain across the capital, certainly worth bearing in mind. and the wider picture throughout the bank. holiday weekend — saturday will be the wettest of the days, sunday and monday, sunny spells and scattered showers. some of them on monday could be quite heavy. take care.

the federal reserve hikes rates to their highest level in 16 years. we look at the impact on the us economy and beyond. plus.. from pakistan to ethiopia...how the cost of living crisis is taking a toll on the elderly around the world. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm monica miller. we begin with the federal reserve's decision to raise interest rates for the 10th consecutive time injust over a year. america's central bank increased its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point — a move that was expected.