the head of china's — disease control agency — says it is possible that covid could have leaked from a laboratory in wuhan. and — the uk government is to crack down on �*legal loopholes�* — which it says encourages children to start 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 kyiv regime l chose a different path, frightening citizens of russia and hitting residential buildings. this is a clear sign of terrorist activity. the air defence system of moscow worked normally, satisfactorily, although 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. 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.

in the last few minutes lines coming to us from the white house about all of this, saying they are still gathering information about what actually happened in moscow, commenting on the drone attacks, they said we do not support a tax inside of russia and they said they are focused on helping ukraine retake its sovereign territory. you can see the concern always with any sort of attack on russian sovereign territory is the possibility of escalation, hence those comments from vladimir putin that we have been looking at, hence ukrainian denials. so to make the white house trying to find out more information on the nature of those drone attacks on the nature of those drone attacks on moscow a little earlier in the day. here's our diplomatic correspondent paul adams — i asked him if he thought this attack has touched a nerve

with president putin. 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 sow 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, 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 airframes 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 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 also the russian leadership, that this is something ukraine or sympathisers of ukraine are capable of. interesting because ukraine's presidential spokesman talked about ukraine having no direct involvement in this attack but didn't say there wasn't indirect involvement, exactly what you are alluding to in that answer. in terms of the other way, we have seen the 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 counteroffensive from ukraine. it is difficult to 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 this war so far have russian missiles or drones hit any ukrainian government facilities in kyiv. it simply hasn't happened yet. this is drip drip psychological impact, possibly designed, and when 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 in your question, ukraine is getting ready for its counteroffensive and we are seeing every day now significant attacks on russian military targets inside occupied ukraine,

in areas like mariupol where ammunition dumps, fuel supplies and troop 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. let's now get the view from the us. joining me now from washington dc is kristine berzina, managing directorfor german marshall fund north. thank you for being here on the programme. your take in terms of your analysis on that attack on moscow today. i

your analysis on that attack on moscow today.— your analysis on that attack on moscow today. i think it is a very important _ moscow today. i think it is a very important moment _ moscow today. i think it is a very important moment in _ moscow today. i think it is a very important moment in the - moscow today. i think it is a very important moment in the war - moscow today. i think it is a very i important moment in the war today when ecd first attack on moscow, there were the drones over the kremlin but this is taking the war to the russian people. it has been over a year and frankly since crimea, russia has been waging a war on ukrainian soil. yes, we don't have... the likelihood is this attack is from eight ukraine affiliated group if not the ukrainian military itself, in which case it is an expression of the realness of this conflict, of this war, for the russian people. if those in kyiv who get attacked at night after night, running for over a year into bomb shelters in their basements, if they have been living like this, they're mostly russia has been immune. conscripts have had to

fight on the front lines and there are volunteers who have thought, but for the average russian the war has been relatively abstract and as of today, it isn't abstract any longer. it is something that could hurt them in their homes in the way that russia had been waging a war to hurt and kill ukrainians in their homes. the attacks from russia on a civilian, nonresidential infrastructure, on houses, on hospitals, this has been the terroristic element of this war and right now, we see that in this pre—offensive, we may be in the first moment of this counteroffensive, that ukraine is launching, it is a difference not only in the power that ukraine is bringing to take back but potentially for those who support ukraine to say this war is not going to be put on russia's terms, but ukraine to say this war is not going to be ut on russia's terms, but ukraine is ukraine to say this war is not going to be ut on russia's terms, but ukraine is capable ukraine to say this war is not going to be ut on russia's terms, but ukraine is capable of ukraine to say this war is not going to be ut on russia's terms, but ukraine is capable of setting . ukraine to say this war is not going to be put on russia's terms, but i ukraine is capable of setting different terms. iii ukraine is capable of setting different terms.—

ukraine is capable of setting different terms. . . ., i, , , different terms. if that analysis is correct, different terms. if that analysis is correct. what _ different terms. if that analysis is correct, what are _ different terms. if that analysis is correct, what are the _ different terms. if that analysis is correct, what are the risks? - different terms. if that analysis is correct, what are the risks? the i correct, what are the risks? the white house are trying to find out a bit more about what was behind the attack, but say we do not support a tax inside of russia. we have had to official denials from ukraine, but there has always been real worry certainly in western capitals of the scope of ukrainian attacks spilling over into russian sovereign territory. what you think of the likely consequences of that, if that is what we have seen? i likely consequences of that, if that is what we have seen?— is what we have seen? i think that we are seeing _ is what we have seen? i think that we are seeing ukraine _ is what we have seen? i think that we are seeing ukraine and - is what we have seen? i think that we are seeing ukraine and those l is what we have seen? i think that i we are seeing ukraine and those who support ukraine play a very delicate dance here, it is very important for the western partners who support ukraine not to have the equipment used in russia and they do not permit and do not want ukraine to be striking within russia itself. that is different from what the voices in ukraine, not all but some, might want to see happen and when we saw these ukrainian russians who had

been trained in ukraine, who then wanted to go back, and it strikes in recent week, that is a different example of something that is not quite ukrainian but is against russia. that balance is important because ukraine does not want to jeopardise the west, and in particular the united states and germany are fearful of escalation. as they look at next steps, we will have to see where the drones were made, who is operating them. the technical details about what was used and how it was used will be very important in a question about what kind of escalation is there and if there is escalation.— if there is escalation. exactly what our team are _ if there is escalation. exactly what our team are looking _ if there is escalation. exactly what our team are looking at _ if there is escalation. exactly what our team are looking at as - if there is escalation. exactly what our team are looking at as we - if there is escalation. exactly what i our team are looking at as we speak. we have seen the 17th straight day of attacks on ukrainian capital, in terms of tactically what you think

the russians might be doing, is there a possibility here that they are focusing on kyiv to somehow tie up are focusing on kyiv to somehow tie up the various defences from perhaps the battlefield site where any counteroffensive might come? it is counteroffensive might come? it is im ortant counteroffensive might come? it is important for— counteroffensive might come? it 3 important for russia to try and we can ukraine as much as possible before an attack, if they want to win, as they do, they want a week at ukraine. but the air defence systems that are protecting kyiv are going to stay in place, so if they are trying to run out of... run them out of ammunition, this could be a precursor to my significant strikes in ukraine laterand precursor to my significant strikes in ukraine later and it is related to the counter offensive, but it isn't as though that which is used to protect kyiv will be moved to the front line, there are things that are staying relatively in place. i would worry that a desire to dramatically run down the ammunition that the air defence systems have, their ability to protect the city,

that in fact could open the city up for other kinds of attack in the future from russia. this isn't a 141, the front line is enormous. and now when we are seeing strikes in russia and across ukraine, it is a very complicated chess game and we have to try and keep all of it in mind as we navigate what is happening right now and what is going to happen in the future. thank ou so going to happen in the future. thank you so much — going to happen in the future. thank you so much for— going to happen in the future. thank you so much forjoining _ going to happen in the future. thank you so much forjoining us _ going to happen in the future. thank you so much forjoining us live - going to happen in the future. thank you so much forjoining us live from washington. as we were talking there, i noticed that the head the wagner group giving recent comments, really angry about what has happened, lashing out at russia's defence ministry, accusing them of not doing enough to prevent the drone attacks on moscow. that is an interesting latest line on that, very much our main story that is dominating here today. 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 gao, 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 have 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. his new podcast launches today with

new episodes weekly on bbc sounds. around the world and across the uk, you were watching 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. earlier we spoke to our health reporter philippa roxby more in detail about the government's plans to crackdown vaping rishi sunak said today he was deeply concerned about the fact that children were being targeted by vape manufacturers, particularly disposable vapes, 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 that end up in the hands of kids every year and he wants to crack down on that. most kids buy them from a corner shop and he wants to stop shops illegally selling vapes to under 185 because under uk law that is not allowed. he is planning greaterfines for shops that do that, so trading standards can on the spot find these retailers, which means they will stop getting these vapes into the hands of young children. what does the evidence look like, the data that has been collected so far about young people experimenting with vapes? numbers of 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 vapers, 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. exactly, 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 of 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 are moving on to smoking yet, but the more research that is done on 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. 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, 14 for norwich, but further west highs of 24 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 14, 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 24 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. this is bbc news, the headlines. the white house warns it does not the white house warns it does not support attacks inside russia as vladimir putin of using a drone support attacks inside russia strike on moscow to scare the country's people. the country's people. ukraine denies involvement as kyiv comes under another night of heavy bombardment. and regulating the future. the us and the eu step up cooperation on al, but can they keep up with the speed of change?