on �*legal loopholes' — which allow retailers to encourage teenagers to try vaping. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, 3 hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. we begin in russia — where in the past half an hour — vladimir putin has accused ukraine, of trying to provoke russia — with this morning's drone attack on moscow — and claiming that the drones were aimed at "civilian targets. " there are no reported deaths from this morning's incident — but several buildings were damaged. russia's foreign ministry said, that country has the right to take the harshest measures in response. meanwhile, ukraine has denied responsibility. this was vladimir putin in the last little while.

translation: as a response, as you know, the keith — translation: as a response, as you know, the keith mac— translation: as a response, as you know, the keith mac regime - translation: as a response, as you know, the keith mac regime chose i translation: as a response, as you know, the keith mac regime chose al know, the keith mac regime chose a different part, freighting cities of russia and hitting residential buildings. this is a clear sign of terrorist activity. the air defence of moscow worked normally, satisfactorily, where there are things to work on. we'll talk to our correspondent on those comments in a moment — but let's first focus on those drones attacking moscow. an adviser to president volodymyr zelensky was asked about the strikes — and said "we have nothing to do with this," but added that kyiv is "watching with pleasure and forecast an increasing number of attacks". here's our russia editor steve rosenberg who sent this report from moscow. explosion. russian tv says this is the moment that moscow came under attack. from early morning, people in and around the russian capital reported hearing explosions.

idid, too. at home, my window shook from the force of the blast. russia's defence ministry says that ukraine had targeted moscow with drones. the russian military claimed it had brought them all down. "look at that," a man says in this video. "right above our house!" later, russian investigators announced that no—one had been injured. they've opened an official investigation into the attack. one of the drones had crashed into a high—rise apartment block. another reportedly flew into this residential building. here is part of it on the ground. it had failed to explode. the area was cordoned off, and emergency services removed it. amongst local residents, the sense of shock is palpable. "we're all on edge," marat says. "i don't know what we should do about it."

"i fear for my life and the lives of my loved ones," says yelena. "things are not as calm and stable as we've been told." the moscow authorities say there was minor damage, no serious injuries, and the situation is under control. but for muscovites, this drone attack is a wake—up call — a sign that this war, that many here still perceive as being far away, is coming much closer to home. that feeling has been growing since these explosions over the kremlin earlier this month — an apparent drone attack. and just days ago, a large—scale cross—border incursion from ukraine into russian territory was another embarrassment for the russian authorities and a sign of growing insecurity. but no sign of any political u—turn. after this morning's drone attacks, the message from the kremlin is clear — what it calls the special military operation

in ukraine will continue. for more on this let's cross to the newsroom and talk to our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. we were listening just snout to vladimir putin and he talked about this being a terrorist attack and talked about are aimed at residential buildings, he talked about it trying to scare russian people. it seems to have such tibial nerve. it people. it seems to have such tibial nerve. . . , ., ~ nerve. it clearly did and i think this is something _ nerve. it clearly did and i think this is something where - nerve. it clearly did and i think. this is something where whoever nerve. it clearly did and i think- this is something where whoever was responsible, the intention seems to have been to give muscovites a flavour of what the people of kyiv have been experiencing for months, especially during the month of may where it has come under such repeated attack. the scale of what happened in moscow overnight was very small by comparison, but the impact, the psychological impact, is clearly designed to mirror that in

some way to a level of uncertainty and fear among the people of moscow. the foreign ministry has talked about taking the harshest of measures in response. it is unclear where they might go tactically. yes. where they might go tactically. yes, that is partly — where they might go tactically. yes, that is partly because _ where they might go tactically. 1&1: that is partly because we do not yet know where this attack came from. there was an assumption that ukraine was behind it in some way or another but i have been talking to an expert who has been taking a closer look at the airframe is involved, which are rather novel ones, which seem to be modified commercially available airframes and his belief is that while it is perfectly possible that they could have been fired from inside ukraine, some 500 kilometres orso inside ukraine, some 500 kilometres or so from the russian capital, he thought it more likely that they were fired from somewhere much

closer to moscow. he didn't think that would be a complicated thing to carry out and these are small devices, they didn't seem to be equipped with very much in the way of explosive munitions. he thinks possibly they were carried out in some way by operatives inside russia, perhaps with ukrainian direction. but not with any particular desire of achieving an explosive result. this was more about sending a message of capability and as i said before, just injecting an element of fear and uncertainty into the minds of the people of moscow but the russian leadership, that this is something ukraine or sympathisers of ukraine are capable of. ukraine or sympathisers of ukraine are capable ot— ukraine or sympathisers of ukraine are capable of. interesting because ukraine's presidential _ are capable of. interesting because ukraine's presidential spokesman l ukraine's presidential spokesman persson talked about ukraine having no direct involvement in this attack but didn't say there was indirect

involvement, exactly what you are alluding to in that answer. in terms of the other way, we have seen 17th straight attack this month on the capital kyiv and people trying to work out tactically what russia is doing in advance of the anticipated to from ukraine. it is doing in advance of the anticipated to from ukraine.— to from ukraine. it is difficult to know exactly — to from ukraine. it is difficult to know exactly what _ to from ukraine. it is difficult to know exactly what russia's - know exactly what russia's intentions are because even though these have robbed a lot of the people of kyiv of many hours of sleep and caused a great deal of psychological distress, the attacks are not really hitting any significant targets. it is interesting, for example, that at no point in the smart so far have russian missiles or a jones point in the smart so far have russian missiles or ajones hit point in the smart so far have russian missiles or a jones hit any ukrainian government facilities in kyiv. it simply hasn't happened yet. this is drip drip psychological impact, possibly designed, and one thinks about the tactics involved, to soak up valuable and expensive

ukrainian air defences in a way that is significantly degrading of ukraine's capabilities. but all the while, as you said question, ukraine is getting ready for its counteroffensive and we are seeing every day now significant tax on russian military targets inside occupied ukraine, in areas like mariam little where ammunition dump, fuel supplies and concentrations are being targeted not with these rather minor drones that we saw used in moscow but by significant bits of western supplied equipment, including the british supplied storm shadow missiles. that is the real military business that is going on right now, it is clearly setting the scene for some kind of attack which may or may not be imminent by the

ukrainians and you want to get it right, and they are perfectly happy to do a bit of distraction on the side while they get ready for the main task at hand.— side while they get ready for the main task at hand. thank you for takin: us main task at hand. thank you for taking us through _ main task at hand. thank you for taking us through all _ main task at hand. thank you for taking us through all of - main task at hand. thank you for taking us through all of that - main task at hand. thank you for taking us through all of that and | taking us through all of that and returning to the attacks in moscow, just a pointer that our team here are trying to get more information about the origins of those drones, the types of drones used, so throughout the course of this next three hours we will continue to return to that and add information that our team had verified and are working on as we speak. the origins of the covid virus remains a major point of contention — and a former top chinese government scientist has told bbc news that the possibility the virus leaked from a laboratory, should not be ruled out. george gow, who was director of the chinese centre for disease control for much of the pandemic, has said in a new bbc podcast that the question of covid's origin remains open. john sudworth — our correspondent in china until he was

forced to leave in 2021 — has sent this report from new york. ever since the world got its first glimpse of the deadly disease circulating in wuhan, china has dismissed the theory that covid might have leaked from a lab known to have been experimenting with coronaviruses, as a lie. but now, one of china's most senior scientists seems far less forthright when i ask him about that possibility. you know, i haven't seen anything. you know, a lot of people have some suspicions, but i haven't seen anything. but nor can you rule it out? for science you have to be open—minded. that means everything is possible. don't rule out anything. don't rule out anything, he says. but the lab leak theory was ruled out. perhaps its association with this man helped cast it

as a conspiracy theory. have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the wuhan institute of virology was the origin of this virus? yes, i have. as did the claims from some western scientists of overwhelming evidence that the virus, which started in bats, passed naturally to humans, perhaps via other animals in a market, a route by which deadly pandemics are known to have emerged in the past. it was that past precedent that influenced the world health organization mission to wuhan when it too effectively ruled out a lab leak. one of the scientists tells me in an interview for our podcast. everyone is biased, i am biased for natural origin because of everything we have seen in the past. the sheer amount of consumption of wild animal meat is such a known high—risk situation.

all along other scientists, while agreeing that covid may well have come from animals in a market, say there is not yet enough evidence to definitively rule out the other possibility, that it leaked from a lab. and with a change of presidency here in the us, that view, now somewhat freed from its political associations, has gained traction. following a review ordered by president biden, two out of eight us intelligence agencies are now said to favour a lab leak with low to moderate confidence. and there is a renewed focus on the wider issue of the risks of lab work with dangerous pathogens, although the political partisanship still looms large. robert redfield was a trump appointee to one of america's top scientificjobs. i had 12 living grandchildren, they are at high risk of a pandemic

in the next decade or two and i think that will be caused by man, not by nature, either intentional or by terrorism, or possiblyjust a lab accident. you've no right to tell me not to ask questions. i have all the rights. under what grounds? the signs of china's heavy handed political control have been there from the start. and the mystery of what happened in wuhan has become one of the most controversial questions of our time. but it's also one of the most important. where did covid come from? john sudworth, bbc news, new york. john's new podcast is called fever: the hunt for covid's origins and starts today, with new episodes weekly on radio 4 and bbc sounds. i'm joined now with sirjohn bell — regius professor of medicine at the university of oxford. thank you for being here, your

assessment of the significance of that intervention from the top chinese scientist? i that intervention from the top chinese scientist?— that intervention from the top chinese scientist? i know him well, he worked on _ chinese scientist? i know him well, he worked on my _ chinese scientist? i know him well, he worked on my lap _ chinese scientist? i know him well, he worked on my lap for _ chinese scientist? i know him well, he worked on my lap for five - chinese scientist? i know him well, he worked on my lap for five years| he worked on my lap for five years in the uk before he went back and now has recently, up untiljanuary this year, has headed china cdc. he is preaching a lot of data that they have generated and i think his conclusion is probably right, although there is quite a lot of evidence to support the idea that the wet market might have been the source of this infection, i think he has argued and i think he is right that it has argued and i think he is right thatitis has argued and i think he is right that it is not absolutely conclusive evidence. there is still a possibility that leaked out of the lab, my issue about all of this is that we should stop scrapping about two sources of these infections, that we already knew existed, lab

leaks are known in this field and also transmission from animals are known. the real issue is how do we prepare ourselves for the next pandemic? a bit like professor redfield was mentioning, that seems to be the central issue. i will redfield was mentioning, that seems to be the central issue.— to be the central issue. i will come to be the central issue. i will come to that issue. _ to be the central issue. i will come to that issue, you _ to be the central issue. i will come to that issue, you think— to be the central issue. i will come to that issue, you think it - to be the central issue. i will come to that issue, you think it is - to be the central issue. i will come to that issue, you think it is the i to that issue, you think it is the central issue, but before i do, a brief assessment, him making that assessment, it could have come from assessment, it could have come from a lab, when you counter that to the really definitive statements we have always had from the chinese authorities, what do you read into that? i authorities, what do you read into that? 4' authorities, what do you read into that? ~ , ., ., ., , ., that? i think you have to understand that? i think you have to understand that george — that? i think you have to understand that george is _ that? i think you have to understand that george is a _ that? i think you have to understand that george is a scientist, _ that? i think you have to understand that george is a scientist, not - that? i think you have to understand that george is a scientist, not a - that george is a scientist, not a political figure and i think he that george is a scientist, not a politicalfigure and i think he is speaking about science rather than a political nuance, which because this has become a geopolitical football, it is difficult to separate the political elements of it start from the real practical scientific

elements, and i think with george, you can be confident he is talking scientifically rather than politically. scientifically rather than politically-— scientifically rather than oliticall. ., ., ., ., politically. he said on radio four earlier today — politically. he said on radio four earlier today that _ politically. he said on radio four earlier today that it _ politically. he said on radio four earlier today that it is _ politically. he said on radio four earlier today that it is not - earlier today that it is not important to know the origins of covid, why do you think that? you talked upon it in yourfirst covid, why do you think that? you talked upon it in your first answer to that this is not the central issue. tell us why you think the central issue is elsewhere and why this should be? i central issue is elsewhere and why this should be?— this should be? i didn't say it wasn't important, _ this should be? i didn't say it wasn't important, it - this should be? i didn't say it wasn't important, it might i this should be? i didn't say it| wasn't important, it might be important if we could get to the answer but as we go around and around, ithink answer but as we go around and around, i think the answer becomes further and further away, and as we debate to completely well—recognised sources of new pathogens in human populations, one is arriving from animal populations, so the epidemic came from that, when the avian flu goes to humans, because of the

animal population. there are many examples. we know that is true. secondly, we also know that when you have labs that are high containment levels, they do occasionally leak dangerous pathogens and we have had two of those leaks in the uk. it is not as if we are completely clean of those ourselves. we can have a scrap about it but while we're busy scrapping about it, the world is not doing a very good job of getting ready for the next pandemic. let’s ready for the next pandemic. let's talk finally about _ ready for the next pandemic. let's talk finally about that _ ready for the next pandemic. let's talk finally about that because you promote a concept called always on. tell us what mean by that and what you think the lesson is that we should draw out of covid are when it comes to building better public health. . ., , comes to building better public health. ., , ., . , comes to building better public health. ., ., . , , health. the always on concept is re health. the always on concept is pretty simple — health. the always on concept is pretty simple and _ health. the always on concept is pretty simple and that _ health. the always on concept is pretty simple and that is - health. the always on concept is pretty simple and that is it - health. the always on concept is pretty simple and that is it is - health. the always on concept is| pretty simple and that is it is not efficient to wait for the next pandemic to come and be spread around the world, that's start to build up the capabilities to respond to it which is what we did the last

time. it is far better to have activities which are running in peace time to deliver really good public health interventions, for example a system whereby we are looking for a wide range of different infectious diseases on a routine basis, using genetics, and then that can pivot to identify new pathogens if they appear in intensive care units. that could be running all the time in the background i could allow us a real head start in identifying new bugs. similarly, the terrific deployment facilities we had from getting the covid vaccine out to where there was a digitally enabled system where we all got a message and went down to the local content in the parking lot and got a jab. that is an efficient way of picking up a whole range of public health issues that could be done when you do not have a pandemic. there are a whole host of aduu pandemic. there are a whole host of adult vaccines that can be deployed that way, a whole host of other

preventative interventions that could be administered in that way and we could set up a relatively low cost but high efficiency prevention system that was community—based, low cost, it could be terrific. those are the kind of things we should be thinking about so when the next thing comes along to catch us, we are pretty much happy there with the solutions. —— we are pretty much half way there. solutions. -- we are pretty much half way there.— around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. a deadline for the government to hand over borisjohnson�*s unredacted whatsapp messages, diaries and notebooks to the covid inquiry has been extended. the cabinet office now has until thursday to pass the material to the inquiry. staff at homeless charity st mungo's are to launch a month—long strike from tuesday

in a dispute over pay. members of trade union unite said workers were "taking a stand" following what they called a "pitiful" offer of a 2.25% pay rise. st mungo's has said it cannot afford to meet the union's demands. rishi sunak has voiced support for an academic whose appearance at the oxford union later today is sparking controversy. oxford university's lgbtq+ society wants kathleen stock�*s talk to be cancelled, because she believes that trans women are not the same as women. the prime minister said debate should be encouraged, not stifled, at universities. you're live with bbc news. the british government is taking steps to reduce vaping among teenagers in england. ministers have pledged to close a loophole which allows retailers to give free samples to children. a ban on nicotine—free

vapes for under 185 is also being considered. the prime minister rishi sunak says the crackdown on vape marketing would prevent the "unacceptable" targeting of children and teens. let's find out more on what those measures could be and speak to our health reporter philippa roxby... this is a fascinating story because it is happening notjust here in the uk but in many countries around the world. let's start with more details on the crackdown itself. rishi sunak said today he _ on the crackdown itself. rishi sunak said today he was _ on the crackdown itself. rishi sunak said today he was deeply _ on the crackdown itself. rishi sunak said today he was deeply concerned | said today he was deeply concerned about the fact that children were being targeted by vape manufacturers, tickly disposable vape, which are very colourful and come in lots of different flavours. he has decided to stop companies giving out free vape samples. there are potentially thousands end up in the hands of kids every year and he wants to crack down on that. most

kids by them from a corner shop and he wants to stop shops illegally selling vapes to under 18 is because under uk law that is not allowed. he is planning greater fines under uk law that is not allowed. he is planning greaterfines for shops that do that, so trading standards can on the spot to find these retailers, which means they. getting these vapours into the hands of young children.— these vapours into the hands of mm: children. ~ ., , . young children. what is the evidence look like, the — young children. what is the evidence look like, the data _ young children. what is the evidence look like, the data that _ young children. what is the evidence look like, the data that has - young children. what is the evidence look like, the data that has been - look like, the data that has been collected so far about young people experimenting with vapes? numbers of children, especially _ experimenting with vapes? numbers of children, especially teens, _ experimenting with vapes? numbers of children, especially teens, vaping - children, especially teens, vaping have been going up year on year. at the moment around 11% seem to have tried vaping, that is up from 7% last year. and around 8% of 11—17 —year—olds describe themselves as currently vaping, and that has been going up as well. far fewer children

now smoke than vapes. smoking is much more dangerous but a recent bbc investigation, when they went to a secondary school and gathered vapes confiscated by teens at the school, discovered there were very high levels of toxins in them such as nickel, chromium and other metals which can potentially cause damage to the lungs and even damage to the brain in young people. rishi sunak is very keen to stop the other promotion and marketing of these devices to children because they are actually designed for adult smokers to use to give up tobacco.— to use to give up tobacco. exactly, on that wider _ to use to give up tobacco. exactly, on that wider point, _ to use to give up tobacco. exactly, on that wider point, we _ to use to give up tobacco. exactly, on that wider point, we have - to use to give up tobacco. exactly, on that wider point, we have seen | on that wider point, we have seen those moves in australia only today, it is a difficult balancing act because authorities are trying to assist smokers in terms of alternatives, but also protect young people using vapes as a gateway into tobacco. the australians are only

talking today that three times the risk amongst youngsters using vapes then ultimately moving onto tobacco. that is right, in the uk there doesn't seem to be the evidence that young people who use vapes i moving on to smoking yet, but the more research that is done in what is contained in vapes, a lot of them are illegal themselves, they come in from outside the uk, from china and other countries, contain much higher levels of nicotine that are allowed in the uk regulations, so they are very wide in the future, the more young teens that start vaping could end up smoking or because themselves more harm than they think. goad end up smoking or because themselves more harm than they think.— more harm than they think. good to to throu:h more harm than they think. good to go through all— more harm than they think. good to go through all of— more harm than they think. good to go through all of that _ more harm than they think. good to go through all of that detail, - more harm than they think. good to go through all of that detail, thankl go through all of that detail, thank you very much. before we go, i want to show you some footage of a bear rescue mission in the united states.

this was the moment the bear was able to scramble out of the back seat of a parked car in northern nevada. police officers were called to the scene when local residents discovered the creature. they then constructed an escape plan, using a long piece of rope to pull open the door from a distance and to set the bear free. it then scarpered off into the woods — and happily neither the animal, nor any human beings, were harmed. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. for some of us, it has been a while since we last saw any rain, particularly across parts of england and wales. in fact, close to swansea there's been no measurable rain for more than three weeks. plymouth, nottingham, sheffield, not far behind. it has rained a little more recently than that in parts of northern ireland and scotland. over the next five days, unlike southern europe where there is going to be quite a lot of wet weather, across our shores many places are going to stay bone dry. with that, though, there

will be some variations. the warmest and sunniest weather will always be across western parts with cooler and cloudier weather further east. through the rest of today, some eastern coasts of england will cling onto some areas of cloud, parts of eastern scotland. northern scotland too staying quite cloudy and where that happens it will be cool. 12 degrees for lerwick, 1a for norwich, but further west highs of 2a there in glasgow. this evening and tonight we do it all over again. we bring this cloud in from the north sea. it rolls its way westwards. clearest of the skies across parts of western scotland, northern ireland, north—west england. that's where it will turn a little bit chilly. temperatures generally between six and 11 degrees. tomorrow, parts of east wales, a good part of england, eastern scotland starting cloudy. a lot of that cloud will roll its way back towards the east coast. if you are spending your day along the coast, if it stays cloudy, when you're exposed to the breeze temperatures are likely to only get to 1a, 15, 16 degrees. parts of north—east scotland only getting to 12 or 13 degrees.

however, further west in the sunshine, temperatures around glasgow likely to get to 25, 26 degrees. 23 for western parts of northern ireland. many western parts of england and wales not too far behind. into thursday, really, it is more of the same. the cloudy and coolest weather to be found across eastern parts of scotland, the eastern side of england. further west, more sunshine, more warmth, temperatures up to around 23 or 2a degrees. as we head towards the weekend, high pressure remains the dominant weather feature. we will continue to see the winds flowing around that area of high pressure. where you're exposed to that breeze around eastern coasts it will feel quite cool and it will be cloudy at times. the highest temperatures and the best of the sunshine further west.

this is bbc news, the headlines. threatened to throw their olympic vladimir putin accuses ukraine of terror tactics after a drone attack on moscow. translation: as a response, - as you know, the kyiv regime chose a different path of frightening russia, frightening the citizens of russia and hitting the residential buildings. ukraine denies involvement as kyiv comes under heavy bombardment once again.

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