it has offered further visa waivers to additional third countries, and we will continue our engagement with these countries to limit this state—sponsored smuggling. and queen elizabeth has been back at her desk at windsor castle and working after spending a night in a london hospital. the hollywood actor alec baldwin says there are no words to convey his shock and sadness after he shot two people with a gun being used as a prop on the set of his new film. halyna hutchins, who was the film's director of photography, died, and the director, joel souza, was injured. detectives have questioned mr baldwin, but say no one has been arrested. the bbc�*s peter bowes is in los angeles. he explained how people in the entertainment industry have been reacting. well, the shock and sadness expressed by alec baldwin really does reflect the mood in hollywood. today, disbelief that something like this could happen, that a prop gun — and they still don't know the details of exactly what happened — but the problem could result and the death of one person in the injury of another. the police are still investigating. still relatively early hours in terms of that investigation. alec baldwin has been interviewed and voluntarily went in for questioning, and left the police station last night. he has said in his statement that he is willing to further cooperate. it is an investigation that could potentially take quite a long time. there's forensics to be gone through and detailed to an terms of looking at the gun to find out exactly what happened. with a look back over the last 2a hours, how these events have unfolded, here's my colleague sophie long. halyna hutchins described herself as a restless dreamer and adrenaline junkie. the 42—year—old was considered by her peers to be an exceptionally talented cinematographer. i met her at a film festival and within just a few moments of talking to her, i felt like she had such a strong vibe, such a sense of a commitment to art, and sort of the integrity of wanting to make cinema, that i wanted to work with her. she was on set at the bonanza creek ranch in new mexico when the shootings and deaths depicted on the 19th century western they were filming became all too real. police said that alec baldwin, the star and co—producer of the movie movie rust, discharged a prop gun carrying blanks. halyna hutchins was air—liftd to hospital, but she died from her injuries. directorjoel souza was also seriously hurt. in a statement, alec baldwin said... the incident has rocked hollywood, with many of those in the film industry now morning one of their rising stars and infuriated industry now mourning one of their rising stars and infuriated this could happen on set. it comes just days after a nationwide strike was averted after a tentative deal between producers and site workers that included an upgrading of safety standards. this isn't the first time someone has been fatally shot during filming. nearly 20 years ago, brandon lee died after being shot by a prop gun on the set of the crow. now people are demanding to know how it could have happened again. there are instances when you do shoot a blank, you can be injured. often, what comes out of the muzzle when you discharge the weapon with blank ammunition, sometimes a cotton wad, and that coming out at a very high velocity to an individual really close by can cause significant damage, and in some cases can cause death. an investigation into what happened here is still in its early stages. what we do know is something went terribly, tragically wrong. sophie long, bbc news, hollywood. what a tragic incident. what's the reaction from hollywood so far? well, hollywood really is a shock to. you've got to go back almost 30 years for a similar incidents like this is where it was brandon lee on the set of in the crow, a film that was eventually released. it was eventually released in his honour, but he died on set as a result of a firearm discharge. mercifully, these are very rare incidences, and i think that's what's got hollywood really scratching its head collectively together to try and figure out how this could possibly happen, that a prop gun put in some way go off with such force that it could result in the death of someone like this. the investigation is in the very early stages. there are a number of types of guns used onsets, and we really don't know those details either. it could be sometime before the authorities managed to piece together everything. peter bo 's re ”ortin piece together everything. peter bo 's reporting there. _ tessa mentus is managing editor and an anchor at new mexico tv news station kob four. she told me about the local impact of this incident. i hate to make it sound clich , but it really— i hate to make it sound clich , but it really is— i hate to make it sound clich , but it really is a — i hate to make it sound clich , but it really is a tragedy on all levels because, — it really is a tragedy on all levels because, as you pointed out, our film industry has really started to take off _ film industry has really started to take off in — film industry has really started to take off in the past few years and we have — take off in the past few years and we have so — take off in the past few years and we have so many celebrities and crewmembers from la, hollywood, really— crewmembers from la, hollywood, really making new mexico their second — really making new mexico their second home for weeks, months on end _ second home for weeks, months on end so _ second home for weeks, months on end so it's— second home for weeks, months on end. so it's kind of like an adopted family— end. so it's kind of like an adopted family for— end. so it's kind of like an adopted family for us. they come here, they immediately fall in love with our landscape. that's half the reason why new— landscape. that's half the reason why new mexico has really exploded in the _ why new mexico has really exploded in the film _ why new mexico has really exploded in the film industry. they fall in love _ in the film industry. they fall in love with — in the film industry. they fall in love with our culture, our people, and we _ love with our culture, our people, and we have — love with our culture, our people, and we have so many new mexicans who are part _ and we have so many new mexicans who are part of— and we have so many new mexicans who are part of the cruise on these productions. and to see halyna's instagram — productions. and to see halyna's instagram post two days before she died, _ instagram post two days before she died. just— instagram post two days before she died, just enjoying a horseback ride in our— died, just enjoying a horseback ride in our beautiful foothills in santa fe, it _ in our beautiful foothills in santa fe, it is — in our beautiful foothills in santa fe, it is like losing someone from an extended family for us. it�*s an extended family for us. it's incredibly _ an extended family for us. it's incredibly sad _ an extended family for us. it�*s incredibly sad and everyone who hears this news is wondering how this happened. what more do we know about the investigation and what are you able to see about what's happening so far? 50. you able to see about what's happening so far?— you able to see about what's happening so far? so, we do know there is still— happening so far? so, we do know there is still quite _ happening so far? so, we do know there is still quite a _ happening so far? so, we do know there is still quite a heavy - happening so far? so, we do know there is still quite a heavy law - there is still quite a heavy law enforcement presence at the movie set. enforcement presence at the movie set we _ enforcement presence at the movie set. we went back up there today. of course, _ set. we went back up there today. of course, that— set. we went back up there today. of course, that set is still on production. we can tell you that they are — production. we can tell you that they are still working. saying that her office — they are still working. saying that her office is fully cooperating with investigators in the very early stages — investigators in the very early stages of— investigators in the very early stages of the investigation because a lot of— stages of the investigation because a lot of people are wondering if we could _ a lot of people are wondering if we could see — a lot of people are wondering if we could see charges because of this death— could see charges because of this death to — could see charges because of this death to mr sousa. she says anything is possible _ death to mr sousa. she says anything is possible based on whatever they learn _ is possible based on whatever they learn as _ is possible based on whatever they learn as to — is possible based on whatever they learn as to how that prop gun turned into a _ learn as to how that prop gun turned into a deadly weapon which is never slipposed _ into a deadly weapon which is never supposed to happen on a movie set. speaking to managing editor and an anchor at new mexico tv news. scientists advising the government here in the uk say plans for the reintroduction of stricter coronavirus measures should be ready for "rapid deployment". they say early intervention, like asking more people to work from home, could have the greatest impact on preventing viral spread. new figures suggest that 1.1 million people were infected across the uk last week, the highest number since january, and a figure much higher than other countries in western europe. borisjohnson says the situation is under constant review, but there are no plans to implement tighter rules. here's our health editor, hugh pym. winter is approaching, the virus is spreading. calls from experts for more widespread mask—wearing in england, more working from home and vaccine passports are growing, what the government has branded plan b. but borisjohnson said today he wasn't yet ready to activate the plan. we keep all measures under constant review. we'll do whatever we have to do to protect the public, but the numbers that we're seeing at the moment are fully in line with what we expected in the autumn and winter plan. and what we want people to do is to come forward and get their jabs. but cases in major european countries like italy are much lower than in the uk, and members of the expert sage committee, according to papers released today, note they have tougher restrictions, including proof of vaccine and testing status. sage says early intervention may reduce the need for tougher measures in future. one member of a government advisory committee, not sage, says plan b or something similar is needed very soon. if we try to rely simply and solely on the vaccine programme to bring things under control this winter, we stand a really high risk of getting into serious trouble. so something's got to be done to communicate with the public and encourage them and, if necessary, i guess, i suppose require them to do some of these things if we're going to stop getting into a really bad mess again. the latest infection survey by the office for national statistics shows that last week in england, one in 55 people had the virus. that was an increase. in wales at one in a5, and northern ireland at one in 130, the trend was said to be uncertain. in scotland, one in 90 had the virus. that was down on the previous week. this map shows in more detail varying infection rates around the uk. the lighter colours show the lowest rates, the darkest colours the highest, including north west england and parts of south wales. covid case increases have been largely driven so far by infections among schoolchildren, though vaccinations of under—16s have only been under way for a month. data for england last week from the 0ns reveals that the sharpest rises in case rates were among children, but there were slight increases recorded, as well, amongst some older age groups. vaccines boost our immunity and l protect us from dangerous viruses. a new government campaign has been launched urging people of all ages who haven't had a jab to get one and those eligible to get a booster. and that's been thrown into sharper focus by the latest hospital admission figures, up nearly 20% week on week. sage experts say it's unlikely they'll go higher than the peak injanuary, but planning for possible new measures should begin now. hugh pym, bbc news. health officials in the uk say a new mutated form of coronavirus that some are calling "delta plus" may spread more easily than regular delta. the uk health security agency has declared it a "variant under investigation". there's no evidence that it causes more serious illness, and scientists are confident that existing vaccines should still work against it. although regular delta still accounts for most covid infections in the uk, cases of "delta plus" or ay.4.2 have been increasing. a little earlier, i spoke with professorjames naismith, the director of the rosalind franklin institute, which conducts research into new health technologies. it's not good news, but it's not something we should overly worry about. there are two changes that have been seen before. they appear to make the virus spread a little better by maybe ten to 15%, but they should cause any immunity or the virus to be more deadly. so should cause any immunity or the virus to be more deadly.— should cause any immunity or the virus to be more deadly. so it's not terrible news, _ virus to be more deadly. so it's not terrible news, but _ virus to be more deadly. so it's not terrible news, but it's _ virus to be more deadly. so it's not terrible news, but it's not - virus to be more deadly. so it's not terrible news, but it's not great - terrible news, but it's not great news either. could you just explain to us what it means, that it's been moved to be a variance under investigation? it’s moved to be a variance under investigation?— moved to be a variance under investigation? moved to be a variance under investiuation? v , ~' , ., , investigation? it's been kept an eye on because — investigation? it's been kept an eye on because it _ investigation? it's been kept an eye on because it started _ investigation? it's been kept an eye on because it started to _ investigation? it's been kept an eye on because it started to grow- investigation? it's been kept an eye on because it started to grow in - on because it started to grow in prevalence, and that's a sign it is more transmissible. so, there's been detected and it's been watched. so, clearly, we want to be sure that it doesn't cause more illness. and clearly, we want to be sure that it doesn't cause more illness.- doesn't cause more illness. and i was looking _ doesn't cause more illness. and i was looking on — doesn't cause more illness. and i was looking on the _ doesn't cause more illness. and i was looking on the bbc— doesn't cause more illness. and i was looking on the bbc website l was looking on the bbc website earlier, reading the story, and it did mention that there are thousands of covid variants swirling around the world. why is this one one we want to look at more closely? 50. want to look at more closely? so, this is most of them go nowhere. evolution means only those who are better appear in the population significant number of. that's why this is a variant of investigation. that would suggest that it's slightly better at spreading than the parent. and suggest that it's slightly better at spreading than the parent. and does this virus have _ spreading than the parent. and does this virus have different _ spreading than the parent. and does this virus have different symptoms, | this virus have different symptoms, i mean this variant, or would you not be able to tell?— not be able to tell? that's what's been studied _ not be able to tell? that's what's been studied for _ not be able to tell? that's what's been studied for now. _ not be able to tell? that's what's been studied for now. it's - not be able to tell? that's what's i been studied for now. it's important to understand that evolution will always make the virus better at spreading, so this is always going to happen. it usually also comes with a virus over time becoming less deadly, but the virus only ever gets better at spreading.— deadly, but the virus only ever gets better at spreading. professorjames smith, director— better at spreading. professorjames smith, director of _ better at spreading. professorjames smith, director of the _ better at spreading. professorjames smith, director of the rosalind - smith, director of the rosalind franklin institute. let's bring you the live pictures now from la palma in the spanish canary islands. red—hot lava is continuing to flow from the volcano destroying land and buildings in its path towards atlantic ocean. the volcano is now in its second month of eruption. it has ended its 33rd day having begun on the 19th of september, and effects are being felt both from above and below, with tremors and small earthquakes shaking the ground. stay with us on bbc news. still to come... as the eu accuses belarus of offering migrants tourist visas and helping them cross into the eu, we have a special report from the border. the bbc understands the home secretary, priti patel, has agreed the law should be changed to give victims of domestic abuse in england and wales more time to report a crime to the police. the current time limit of six months could be extended to two years. valerie wise is from the charity victim support. it's shocking that many cases — 13,000 cases over the last five years — have been dropped because they have run out of time. i think it has to be recognised that it's really difficult to report domestic abuse to the police. sometimes women or men, indeed, might feel that they won't be believed, and sometimes they might feel that they might be living still in an abusive relationship and it could make things worse. there's a whole raft of reasons why it might not be possible to report the incident straight away, and the time starts from the day the incident happens. and then, say you report it, and the police are investigating it and ran out of time — thatjust means the case gets dropped and the alleged offender is not brought to justice. this is bbc news. the latest headlines... the hollywood actor alec baldwin says he's heartbroken after he shot and killed a cinematographer with a prop gun on a film set in new mexico. the uk investigates a new mutated for of coronavirus known as delta plus that could spread easier than any other variant. eu leaders have threatened further action against belarus over migration at an eu summit in brussels. the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, accused belarus of state—sponsored people—smuggling. we will keep up the pressure on the lukashenko regime. we have already proposed targeted measures to reverse visa facilitation for its regime and its proxies and we are ready to explore options for further sanctions not only for individuals but also for entities or companies. second, we agreed that we need concerted action. belarus as we are observing now is looking at opening new routes, it is offered further visa waivers to additional third countries it has offered further visa waivers to additional third countries and we will continue our engagement with these countries to limit the state sponsored smuggling. the row with belarus stems from the european union's decision to introduce sanctions against the country, after its contested presidential election last year. the eu says minsk has retaliated by issuing tourist visas to people who in fact want to claim asylum in the eu, allowing them to cross into one of the three eu countries on its borders. 0ur correspondent paul adams has been to meet one group of people trying to make the journey. trapped in the forest on the eu's eastern frontier, a group of syrians exhausted and afraid. "we are absolutely shattered," the voice says. "we've been walking since four in the morning." but how did they get here? two weeks earlier, theirjourney starts with a tearful farewell in northern iraq. and an optimistic selfie at the airport. "we're leaving for belarus," says idris. we went to erbil. the city is full of travel agents catering for would—be migrants. the first step, a visa. murad isn't giving anything illegal, but he still doesn't murad isn't doing anything illegal, but he still doesn't want to be identified. if you have passports, we send it to the belarus tourism companies and they send us invitations. so when people come to you, they are not... you know they're not going to belarus for a holiday? of course. you know they're going to europe? yeah. next, a smuggler. he is preparing to take a group through belarus to europe. translation: if you are using a smuggler, it is going to cost| you a lot at the borders. it will cost between $9,000 and $12,000. by now, idris and his friends have reached the bela russian capital, minsk. the airport is jammed with people making the same journey. the group has been told to go to a hotel and wait for instructions. are you worried about the journey? translation: of course we are. we are crossing - the border illegally. we don't know what will happen. we can't trust anyone, | not even our smuggler. we are putting our. faith in god's hands. in may, the president of belarus, alexander lukashenko, threatened to flood the eu with drugs and migrants. revenge, it seems, for eu sanctions. soon thousands were crossing into lithuania. we went to see the border for ourselves. the guards here still catching dozens of migrants every day. lithuania says belarus is actively helping them to cross illegally. in some places, the border is little more than a gap in the forest. we can see some belarussian border guards coming right now. until the crisis began, there was regular communication between the two sides, but after president lukashenko threatened to allow migrants into the eu, all of that cooperation stopped and people started to flood across this border, and you can see just how easy it was. but thousands of migrants are now in detention, more than 700 here in a former prison. this, for some, is where hopes and dreams come to an abrupt end. they can apply for asylum, but most won't get it. after several days of silence, idris and his friends are back in touch, heading into poland. he couldn't film, but says belarusian soldiers loaded 50 migrants onto a truck, took them to the border and showed them the way. out of the forest and into the eu, in cars arranged by smugglers. with the help of belarus and at the cost of $7,000 each, idris and his friends have made it. they'll apply for asylum and see what happens next. paul adams, bbc news. queen elizabeth is said to be in good spirits after her overnight stay in hospital for medical tests. nick witchell reports. windsor, wednesday afternoon. a convoy of royal vehicles moving under police escort in the direction of london. was this the convoy taking the queen to hospital? at around the same time, at windsor castle itself, a very small royal standard was said to be flying, its presence giving weight to the palace's claim that the queen was resting at the castle. but that was not the case. in fact, the queen was here, at the private king edward vii hospital in central london. the palace clearly hoped her visit would go unnoticed. it did, until last night when the sun led with the story that she'd spent the night in hospital. the palace was forced to issue this statement. buckingham palace insists that, like any citizen, the queen is entitled to privacy of medical issues. the palace will therefore say nothing about the nature of the investigations ordered by her doctors. i think this is a matter of concern rather than alarm. had this been a procedure or an operation, then they would have put out a medical bulletin, but this trip to hospital is sort of somewhere in between, so i think the initial intention of being just to do this covertly, but it came out in the open, and now we all know about it. less than 2a hours before the queen's hospital visit, she was hosting a reception for global business leaders at windsor castle. she appeared to be relaxed and on good form, but the inescapable reality is her age — she's 95. the queen's advisers have a difficult balancing act at several levels. first of all, they must balance the queen's instinctive wish to do as much as possible against the realities of her age. and they must also balance the concerns of millions of people for her wellbeing against her wish that medical matters should remain as private as possible. for now, we have to rely on what the palace says, which is that the queen has resumed the relentless and unseen work which goes with her role. she is, the palace says, continuing with light duties and remains determined to attend the cop26 summit in glasgow at the end of this month. nicholas witchell, bbc news, buckingham palace. thank you for watching bbc news. do stay with us. good evening. the weather has thrown a little bit of everything at us this week, some wet weather, some squally winds, some mild conditions, some chilly conditions. today has been one of the quieter days of the week, with sunshine in some places, but a lot of cloud in others. and that cloud, as you can see from the earlier satellite and radar picture, has been producing some showers. and we will keep a lot of cloud as we head through this evening and tonight. it could turn a bit misty and murky over hills in the west and more generally down towards the south. still some spots of rain and drizzle. where we have clear skies for any length of time, particularly in north east scotland, temperatures will drop away, maybe all the way down to —2 celsius with a touch of frost. but despite a chilly start to saturday for some, the weekend generally speaking will be mild and quite windy, with some rain at times courtesy of this frontal system moving its way quite slowly in from the west. it will be making slow progress. it's running up against this area of high pressure, and that will keep things largely dry across the bulk of england and wales. a few spots of drizzle in the west, quite a lot of cloud around. the best of any sunshine in the east. southern and eastern parts of scotland will see some sunny spells as well, but for northern ireland and western scotland, slowly but surely this rain will creep its way in. some of that rain will be heavy, accompanied by strong southerly winds. now, those are the average wind speeds. we could see gusts in western scotland of 50mph or more. but because the winds are coming up from the south, it is going to feel a bit milder, 12—14 degrees. we move through saturday night, our weather front staggering a little further eastwards, rain through northern ireland into western scotland. eventually some of that rain will get down into england and wales overnight and into the first part of sunday. what we will also see on sunday is some even milder air being scooped up from the south. notice the orange colours here on the chart. so, certainly a mild—feeling day on sunday. quite a lot of cloud around and some showers, some of which will be heavy, possibly thundery in the west. some sunny spells as well, but confirmation of another windy day and another pretty mild one. temperatures in parts of north east scotland could get to 15—16 degrees. similar values further south through northern ireland and parts of england and wales. we look ahead to next week, it stays relatively mild. there will be some outbreaks of rain at times. some of that rain heavy and persistent, particularly up towards the north and the west. this is bbc world news, the headlines. the actor alec baldwin has described as a tragic accident the fatal shooting he was involved in on a film set. baldwin fired a prop gun that was supposed to be loaded with blanks, but killed one person and injured another. scientists advising the government say stricter covid measures should be made ready for �*rapid deployment�* — but the prime minister insists plan b for england isn�*t needed yet. buckingham palace has confrmed that queen elizabeth spent a night in hospital in london earlier this week, after undergoing what are said to be �*preliminary medical checks�*. the european union has accused belarus of recruiting migrants in the middle east and pushing them into europe. eu leaders said they will take further action against minsk over the issue. at ten 0�*clock we will be here with a full round up of the days news. first, it�*s time for newscast.