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. as rehearsals continue for the coronation of king charles iii, police warn of swift action against any protesters on the big day. 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.

live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers we begin in moscow, where russia has accused ukraine of trying to assassinate 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. president 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 residents 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, and with what aim? ukraine has denied involvement. if this was, as the kremlin claims, 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 may nine, 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 close to the public since the end of april. that is unusual and reflects the sense of unease. more than 14 months since the kremlin launched its full square —— full—scale invasion of ukraine, the war is feeling much closer to home. that report from our russia editor steve rosenberg. earlier, i spoke to melinda

haring in washington, she is a nonresident fellow at the atlantic council's eurasia centre. i asked her whether this is an embarrassing moment for president putin. look, the ukrainians have flat out denied it, both zelenskyy and his spokespeople have denied it, and they say it doesn't make any sense. a lot of people are saying it looks like it is 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 is responsible. we government doesn't know either who is responsible.— who is responsible. we “ust heard from i who is responsible. we 'ust heard from steve �* who is responsible. we just| heard from steve rosenberg who is responsible. we just . heard from steve rosenberg in his piece that russia is saying 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? a, ., . ., ., possible of doing something like this? ., ., possible of doing something likethis? ., ., ., like this? monaco, a lot of the activity we _ like this? monaco, a lot of the activity we are _ like this? monaco, a lot of the activity we are seeing - like this? monaco, a lot of the activity we are seeing are - activity we are seeing are probably shaping activities, ukraine is getting ready to launch a counter offensive, we don't know when they're going to do it, they haven't shared intelligence with anyone, for good reasons, but they are getting the battle ground ready and they are trying to unnerve the russians, so we are seeing fuel depots, we are seeing all sorts of unusual activity. we don't know when this counteroffensive. but that's likely what we are seeing. so ou are likely what we are seeing. so you are saying that we may see an even bigger attack from ukraine in the nearfuture? right now, the ukrainians are worried about vladimir putin's striking kyiv tonight, so it is one o'clock in the morning in kyiv now, there are a lot of warnings as people are getting ready to go to bed, and concerns that putin is really going to come after ukraine. we saw a big, relatively large missile strikes over the past

two days. we hadn't seen that four weeks and weeks, so both sides are nervous right now. that is melinda hearing in washington, dc. 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 is the main suspect in a mass shooting at one of the best state 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 standing in the hallway. tuna/mom- standing in the hallway. translation: ., ~ , translation: i was walking up the stairs and _ translation: i was walking up the stairs and while _ translation: i was walking up the stairs and while i _ translation: i was walking up the stairs and while i was - the stairs and while i was walking up i could hear a sound, i thought it was may be boys, some kids throwing firecrackers and that they were having fun. but then i could hear it close 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 anymore. i didn't know who was up there. he then walked into _ know who was up there. he then walked into a _ know who was up there. he then walked into a history _ know who was up there. he then walked into a history class, - 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 is being 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 here and sadness. this is normally a lively part of town, but the people who live here say it has 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 morning instead. bethany bell, bbc news —— is mourning its dead. 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 finalflight all—out war. the comments come as the final flight carrying british nationals wanting to escape the flight —— fighting in sudan took off after a new seven day ceasefire. more than 100,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries. the un is urgently trying to get humanitarian supplies safely into the worst affected areas. andrew harding reports. in the war—torn centre of khartoum, in a bullet riddled apartment, a terrified family of four. ., of four. now, during the shooting. _ of four. now, during the shooting, me _ of four. now, during the shooting, me and - of four. now, during the shooting, me and the i of four. now, during the i shooting, me and the kids of four. now, during the - shooting, me and the kids would stay here because it is the

safest area for us to stay. seen here in earlier, calmer times, widower mohammed salman and his three young children. we have 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 points of the whole situation. we laid down, i was talking to them constantly, explaining that we are quite safe here, look, we're on the ground, nothing is happening to us, i'm nothing is happening to us, i'm not going to turn around to my children and say we in danger. for ten days, mohammed races out to find water. he is a dual british sudanese national, whose wife died three years ago. whose wife died three years a . o. �* . whose wife died three years am, �* ., , whose wife died three years auo. �* ., , ago. being a single parent household, _ ago. being a single parent household, i— ago. being a single parent household, i couldn't - ago. being a single parent household, i couldn't take j 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, because they were panicking every time i wanted to leave the house.— to leave the house. finally, the family _ to leave the house. finally, the family make _ to leave the house. finally, the family make a - to leave the house. finally, the family make a run - to leave the house. finally, the family make a run for i to leave the house. finally, the family make a run for itj the family make a run for it through khartoum �*s devastation. through khartoum 's

devastation.- through khartoum 's devastation. ., , ., devastation. you see some of the damages- _ devastation. you see some of the damages. wow. - devastation. you see some of the damages. wow. first, - devastation. you see some of. the damages. wow. first, they reach a neighbourhood - reach a neighbourhood controlled by sue dann�*s regular army. controlled by sue dann's regular army.— controlled by sue dann's reaulararm . ~ ., ., , regular army. we have finally are amongst _ regular army. we have finally are amongst the _ regular army. we have finally are amongst the army, - regular army. we have finally are amongst the army, our i are amongst the army, our people, ifeel safe.- are amongst the army, our people, ifeel safe. people, i feel safe. and then on to join _ people, i feel safe. and then on to join the _ people, i feel safe. and then on to join the crowds, - people, i feel safe. and then j on to join the crowds, hoping to be airlifted out by british forces. after their ordeal, 11—year—old siddiqi is ill. he and his sisters do not have british passports but their fathers 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, _ waiting at arrivals. it is bittersweet, all- waiting at arrivals. it is bittersweet, all my - waiting at arrivals. it is i bittersweet, all my work, 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 are quite happy about it, they are

experiencing things they haven't experienced before. find haven't experienced before. and swa - - in . haven't experienced before. and swapping the — haven't experienced before. and swapping the chaos of war for a quiet street in liverpool. andrew harding, bbc news. political parties have been making their final pitch to voters on the last day of campaigning for local elections across england. polls open on thursday, to elect around 8,000 councillors and four local mayors. the results are also being closely watched, as a key test of public opinion before the general election, expected next year. 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 loch nay for in his bag. he remains in custody. nay for in his bag. he remains in custody-— in custody. what the hell was that? police _ in custody. what the hell was that? police officers - in custody. what the hell was that? police officers carried l that? police officers carried out a controlled _ that? police officers carried out a controlled explosion i that? police officers carried i out a controlled explosion on his backpack, but says they are 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 gatherfor 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 will be armed officers on rooftops. m15 and the police have been identifying terrorists and those who may pose a threat.— pose a threat. the work that has been — pose a threat. the work that has been going _ pose a threat. the work that has been going on _ pose a threat. the work that has been going on and - pose a threat. the work that has been going on and our. has been going on and our intelligence services to make sure we know as much as possible what is going on and where incidents could occur has been a huge effort. i5 where incidents could occur has been a huge effort.— been a huge effort. is the rehearsal _ been a huge effort. is the rehearsal overnight - been a huge effort. is the i rehearsal overnight showed, there will be thousands of military personnel involved, it will also need protection. police are considering using live facial recognition technology to help identify unknown suspects. antimonarchist groups like republican been sent letters, warning them of new protest laws that came into forced this week and police said only lawful demonstrations would be

allowed. we lawful demonstrations would be allowed. ~ ., ., , allowed. we have an extremely low tolerance _ allowed. we have an extremely low tolerance for _ allowed. we have an extremely low tolerance for anything - allowed. we have an extremely low tolerance for anything and l low tolerance for anything and anyone who comes to disrupt these events 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 the interference.— celebrating without the interference. �* . , interference. but human rights u-rous interference. but human rights groups believe _ interference. but human rights groups believe the _ interference. but human rights groups believe the series - interference. but human rights groups believe the series of i 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 through and the police today confirming they intend to use facial recognition technology during the policing of the coronation. the technology during the policing of the coronation.— technology during the policing of the coronation. the king was in westminster _ of the coronation. the king was in westminster abbey - of the coronation. the king was in westminster abbey for i of the coronation. the king was in westminster abbey for a i 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 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 a charity, which identified a desperate need. 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 harrassed by doorstep moneylenders, and all of the awful ways that they get money back, so it is done just 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 us as it opened a new embassy tonga this month, to counter chinese influence in the region. it's also been made known that the us is exploring embassies in vanuatu and kiribati. tensions were heightened after beijing signed a security pack with the solomon islands. we cross live to wellington right now. thank you very much forjoining us in the programme. thank you for having me. there is talk now that the us is going to start investing diplomatically in that region but what has the relationship then with the us and these countries? for

relationship then with the us and these countries?- relationship then with the us and these countries? for a long time, and these countries? for a long time. the _ and these countries? for a long time. the us — and these countries? for a long time, the us has _ and these countries? for a long time, the us has been - and these countries? for a long time, the us has been largely l time, the us has been largely absent from the region. a far lower diplomatic foot rent. as you mentioned, the us is opening embassies in tonga and potentially looking at vanuatu and has opened in the solomon islands as well this year. so it really is, what we are seeing is very much a recommitment to the pacific islands region and the reinvigoration of us policy towards the region in the past year. towards the region in the past ear. ~ . towards the region in the past ear, ~ ., . ., towards the region in the past ear. . ., ,., towards the region in the past ear. . ., , year. what can you tell us about the _ year. what can you tell us about the importance i year. what can you tell us about the importance of l year. what can you tell us i about the importance of this region? china has already engaged in the solomon islands but why are they so interested in this place?— in this place? the pacific reuion in this place? the pacific region is _ in this place? the pacific region is diverse, - in this place? the pacific region is diverse, it's i in this place? the pacific i region is diverse, it's large region is diverse, its large from the perspective of the maritime domain and it has played critical roles in

previous conflicts but unfortunately, it's also increasingly on the frontline of the strategic competition between china and the united states. last year, with the china solomon islands security pact, which really led to us re— engagement, at quite a significant level afterwards. do you expect china's response to not be favourable in this event, or do they have other issues, like their concerns with the pacific around the philippines, and other areas. how do you expect them to respond?— respond? china will keep engaging _ respond? china will keep engaging in _ respond? china will keep engaging in the - respond? china will keep engaging in the way i respond? china will keep engaging in the way that | respond? china will keep i engaging in the way that china has. china has deep roots. it's regarded as a viable

development partner by many pacific island countries who recognise china, as does the united states and other actors in the region. china will continue to keep seeking to shape and influence the regional water as it sought to have a number of years. pacific island countries are playing critical roles here in terms of the way in which they are balancing and hedging the various different actors who will be engaging in the region and seeking to really drive their national interest. so how china responds to the stepped us engagement, we are likely to see china seek to advance the proposal but it sought to get agreement on last year. a regionwide security, trade, economic proposal which was rejected by pacific countries at the time. we are likely to see them put that forward, puts on the table again this year in

some shape orform. as on the table again this year in some shape or form. as well as continue to engage in security sector cooperation and various other forms of cooperation that china has been engaged in in the pacific or a very long time. but what we can't overlook or underestimate, the role that pacific countries play in actually balancing these strategic competitors in these strategic competitors in the region. these strategic competitors in the region-— these strategic competitors in the reuion. . ~ , . the region. thank you very much forjoining _ the region. thank you very much forjoining us— the region. thank you very much forjoining us in _ the region. thank you very much forjoining us in the _ forjoining us in the programme. we want to give you an update on a story we've been following. in the last few minutes, cobb country police department in georgia, usa said a man who opened fire in the city of atlanta has been detained. a woman died in the shooting. for others, all women are in critical condition. the authorities say they will provide more details of it

later at a news conference and we will keep across this story and bring you the latest information on 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 1200 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. the remains of a man who went missing on a fishing trip have been found inside a crocodile. 65—year—old kevin darmody went missing in far north queensland over the weekend. after a 2—day search of the area, police euthanised two large crocodiles before finding human body parts. 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. more now on preparations for the coronation of king charles iii 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. 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. 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 in just over one year. america's central bank increased its key

interest rate by a quarter percentage point and that is a