hello and welcome to bbc news. 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. sophie long has more from los angeles. 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 commitment to art, and like the sort of 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 rust, discharged a prop gun carrying blanks. halyna hutchins was airlifted 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 mourning one of their rising stars and infuriated this could happen on set. and it comes just days after a nationwide strike was averted after a tentative deal between producers and set workers that included an upgrading of safety standards. this isn't the first time someone�*s 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 that you can be injured. often, what comes out of the muzzle after you've discharged the weapon that has blank ammunition is sometimes a cotton wad, and that coming out at a very high velocity to an individual that's 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. we can now speak to fire arms expert clark aposhian, who also has extensive experience working as a weapons handler on hollywood film productions. what sort of precautions to film sets — of this calibre — how on earth does a prompt and kill a person?— kill a person? well, i prop gun dozens, kill a person? well, i prop gun dozens. quite _ kill a person? well, i prop gun dozens, quite honestly. - kill a person? well, i prop gun dozens, quite honestly. an - dozens, quite honestly. an actualfirearm dozens, quite honestly. an actual firearm that's firing blanks will do that. i mean, pf°p blanks will do that. i mean, prop guns, if they are literally prop guns, they are made out of rubber sometimes, sometimes they have a few moving parts and theyjust add a flash and some smoke in postproduction, sometimes they will have a little propane burst that will come out of them, but they are incapable of firing actual ammunition, but, some of the lower budget films, they will use actual firearms because then they can find period firearms that match exactly what they want that fire live ammunition, but they just use blanks instead, and with that comes an extra degree of caution that must be exerted, you know, everything from muzzle direction to a constant state of inspection of that firearm and the ammunition, the blank ammunition, the blank ammunition that is being used. so what do you think happened in this instance? what safety procedures did not happen that allowed such a tragic accident to happen?— to happen? well, i can only speculate — to happen? well, i can only speculate as _ to happen? well, i can only speculate as to _ to happen? well, i can only speculate as to what - to happen? well, i can only - speculate as to what happened, but somehow, i live round got into that firearm. if we are to believe what happened, that a projectile struck one person and perhaps over penetrated and went into another, that sounds like a life around, that doesn't sound like a cotton rod coming out of a blank in any way, and anotherfailure, if we are to speculate, would be muzzle direction. even in the scenes where one actor is pointing at the high and seemingly at another actor and they are having a shoot—out, those guns actually aren't pointed, they cheat the camera angles on those, and it looks like it, but they fudge on those so you are not pointing at them. we don't allow actual firearms to be pointed onset without any excuses, no apology. prop guns, yeah, you can do that, but not actual firearms, even using blanks. you have worked on numerous productions in your career, have you ever been in a situation where there has been an accident akin to this one, or a situation where you could foresee an accident happening, have you ever been in a situation like this at all? absolutely not. the closest we got was they couldn't find some ammunition that looks like real ammunition that looks like real ammunition for a loading sequence one time and someone went to their car and brought mine ammunition onset. i said that person who was an assistant cast member, they had to go, or i was going to leave the set. that's as close as it's gotten. we never had any close because, because you have to understand, once that firearm is out clement goes to me are one of my crew directly to the actor, and then from the actor, sin is the director yells cut, we take the gun from them and it goes directly from us. if we see that actor pulling the gun out of their holster if it doesn't call for it in the movie, we actually come up, take the gun and inspected again, and sometimes we physically put it back in their holster by them and say, let's just leave it the way it is. we have constant eyes on that weapon the entire time. so many questions remain as to how this tragic accident happened, but clark, chairman of the utah shooting sports council, many thanks for sharing your experiences with us this evening and apologise to our viewers for the slight technical hitches on that line. let's get some of the day's other news... the un says its flights to mekelle in ethiopia's tigray region have been suspended after one of its planes had to abort its landing on the same morning as a military air strike was carried out on the city. the ethiopian government said its planes had been targeting a training center used by tigrayan rebels. the tigray people's liberation front said the city's university had been hit. hospital sources said 11 civilians were injured. a team of archaeologists has discovered remains that could re—write the history of the pre—incan wari civilisation. the remains of 29 people — 25 belonging to the mohica era and four to the wari culture, were found in an ancient ceremonial centre, 750 kilometres north of lima. according to the lead researcher, it's the first time a discovery linked to the wari civilisation has been made this far from its area of influence. european union leaders have given angela merkel a standing ovation at the end of her 100 and seventh and probably last eu summit. the european council president said a summit without angela was like rome without the vatican or paris without the eiffel tower. the new austrian chancellor said the loss of someone so influential in shaping europe would clearly leave a hole. eu leaders have threatened further action against belarus, as a row over migration intensifies. poland, lithuania and latvia have all declared a state of emergency in response to what they say is president lukashenko's policy of issuing tourist visas to thousands of people who want to claim asylum in the eu — effectively allowing them to pass through belarus into the eu countries on its borders. on the second day of an eu summit in brussels, european commission president, ursula von der leyen, accused minsk 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 the 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 has offered further visa waiver is two additional third countries, and we will continue our engagement with these countries to limit the state—sponsored smuggling. our international affairs correspondent, paul adams has been to meet one of the groups trying to reach europe— and he sent this special report. trapped in the forest in poland on the eu's eastern frontier, a group of syrians, exhausted and afraid. "we're absolutely shattered," the voice says. "we've been walking since four in the morning." but how do they get here? two weeks earlier, their journey starts with a tearful farewell in northern iraq. an optimistic selfie at the airport in irbil. "we're leaving for belarus," says idris. we went to irbil ourselves. the city is full of travel agents catering for would—be migrants. the first step — a visa. murat isn't doing anything illegal, but he still doesn't want to be identified. if you have passports, i will send it to the belarus tourism companies, and they send us invitations. so when people come to you, you know they're not going to belarus for a holiday. of course. you know they're going to europe. yeah. by now, idris and his friends have reached the bela rusian 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 smugglers. 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 there to see the border. 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 belarusian border guards coming right now. until the crisis began, there was a 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. but thousands of migrants are now in detention. this, forsome, is where hopes and dreams come to an abrupt end. they can apply for asylum, but most won't get it. poland... after several days of silence, idris and his friends are back in touch, heading further into poland. he couldn't film the moment but says belarusian soldiers loaded 50 migrants into 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 a 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. this is bbc news. the 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. eu leaders have threatened further action against belarus over migration at a summit in brussels. the us supreme court has agreed to hear a challenge to texas s abortion law that is one of the most restrictive in the country. as access to abortion becomes more limited there ? across the border in mexico, the opposite is happening. last month, mexico s supreme court ruled to decriminalise abortion in the country, a huge step in the second largest catholic nation in the americas. it comes after many years of campaigning by women s rights groups in mexico. but the change is opposed by a powerful conservative lobby. will grant reports from northern mexico for this single mother of three, feeding and educating her children alone and on a budget is enough of a struggle. so when she became pregnant a fourth time, she opted to abort. abortion was illegal in her home state, so it wasn't an easy decision, but not when she regrets. translation: it wasn't easy, at that time, there was no - legal protection for women, no places of an adequate health standard to attend such cases, and there is really a lot of social stigma. few know that stigma better than paulina ramirez, a taxi driver whose story once made national headlines. in 1999, age 13, she was raped and left pregnant by a man who broke into the family home. abortion is legal in mexico in cases of rape, but paulina was so harassed by conservative doctors, bureaucrats and priests, they managed to stop herfrom getting one. she carried the baby to full term, still only a child herself. translation: everyone decided for me except me myself. - i only wanted to exercise my rights, and they didn't let me. they did basically whatever they wanted. now the supreme court is decriminalised abortion in mexico, a major victory for groups like the safe abortion network. via flyers, posters and word—of—mouth, they offer support to women looking for abortions but still operate outside the law. "we helped nearly 300 women obtain abortions last year," said the group's founder. with abortion law in neighbouring texas getting stricter, she thinks that americans will soon come south for abortions, just as mexicans once went north. mexico's supreme court has undoubtedly taking huge strides towards full decriminalisation, however, even though the judges unanimously ruled it was unconstitutional for the state to penalise abortion, there are many obstacles to overcome before it is safely and legally available across the country. and some very powerful forces oppose the law. mexico is latin america's second biggest catholic nation, and anti—abortion campaigners are determined to block the court's decision. the supreme court has failed against the fundamental freedom of life. today, they want to proceed against the fundamental freedom of the health sector. all the doctors, nurses, they want to take out the freedom of the objection of conscience, and that it's very, very dangerous for a democratic country. across latin america, attitudes on abortion are shifting. in argentina, chile and mexico, younger generations are knocking down laws built by their parents and grandparents. translation: this isjust the start. - there are still mountains to overcome before this is fully legal. we need proper health slinics which carry out abortions and doctors that are prepared to do that. clearly forced teenaged pregnancies or unwanted children born into violence and poverty won't end overnight in mexico, but without the risk of jail, mexican women can now choose if and when to become mothers. will grant, bbc news. a 24—year—old man has been arrested by detectives investigating the 2017 manchester arena bombing. he's being detained on suspicion of preparing — or assisting others to prepare — acts of terrorism. 0ur correspondent, judith moritz, has the details well, we know that this man was arrested earlier today at manchester airport on his way back into the uk, having left the country in april 2017, around a month or so before the attack here at the arena. tonight, he is in custody being questioned on suspicion of terrorist offences. we also know that he's from the fallowfield area of manchester, the same suburb south of the city where the bomber salman abedi lived. earlier this week, there was criticism of the bomber�*s brother, ismailabedi, who has left the uk in defiance of a court order requiring him to give evidence at the public inquiry into the attack. there has also been speculation over his whereabouts. well, i can tell you that the man arrested is not ismail abedi. greater manchester police say that four years after the attack here, they are still pursuing leads relating to the criminal investigation into the atrocity. scientists advising the government here in the uk, say plans for the reintroduction of stricter coronavirus measures, should be ready for "rapid deployment". 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. prime minister borisjohnson says the situation is under constant review, but there are no plans to implement tighter rules. here's our health editor, hugh pym. vaccines boost our immunity. it's a new government campaign and a bigger place to urge people who haven't had a jab to get one and those eligible to get one and those eligible to get a booster. for continued vaccination roll—out is at the centre of the prime minister's strategy for england, but they have been growing because some experts, thoughts being branded plan b, wider mask wearing, more working from home and vaccine passports. bryce johnson 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 protect us from dangerous viruses. —— 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. it's been a busy week of action in european football — including the new europa conference league. and the game's expansion with more competitions is set to continue — with plans for a bigger champions league announced earlier this year. it all means more flights for clubs and fans and more emissions. is the global game doing enough to counter climate change? katie gornall reports. football is a global game, and it's growing all the time. in europe, new tournaments are popping up, existing ones expanding, while big games are being held further and further afield. but, at a time when everyone is being urged to help tackle climate change, is football playing its part? thomas hal robson—kanu scored one of the greatest goals in european championship history. now, the wales striker runs a vegan drinks company — and has strong views on where he thinks football is failing. that desire for growth is beginning to spill over into greed. it's an interesting position for them to take, and probably not one which is aligned with, you know, fans—first, planet—first, climate—first approach. this season, uefa introduced a new third—tier competition, the europa conference league, increasing the number of group games across all three of their club competitions by 20%. and that's not all — in the �*24—25 season, the champions league is expanding from 96 group matches to 180. more games means more air travel. we are on this journey. but, of course, our plan is to increase our commitment. we cannot have only the climate focus in our area, because we also need to link our impact in civil society, and impact in economic relativities. here in london, tottenham hotspur are about to play ns mura in the europa conference league. for this tiny slovenian club, it's a whole new experience. so, for the small clubs, like maura — it shows we're here. it's huge. from a financial dutch it's huge for us on a financiall scale, but also emotionally, for me, it's massive. - combating climate change is not a fight that can be fought alone. football's authority say they'll do more to expand their expanding carbon footprint — but that won't involve playing less. katie cornell, bbc news. more on our website. you can also reach us on twitter. we would love to hear from you. thanks for watching and stay with us. hello. the weather has thrown just about everything at us over the last week or so. heavy rain, squally winds, a bit of snow over high ground in scotland. so, what does the weekend have in store? well actually, a return to milder conditions, some brisk winds, and some rain at times courtesy of this frontal system that you can see pushing in from the west. but it is moving quite slowly, it's running up against high pressure. so there will sstill be a fair amount of dry weather around through saturday and, where skies have been clear, a really chilly start across parts of eastern scotland and eastern england. but that is where we will see the rest of the sunshine, more cloud further west, the odd spot of drizzle, and then, our weather front bringing persistent rain quite slowly eastward across northern ireland and into western scotland. it'll be breezy or windy wherever you are, but particularly windy in the west of scotland, with wind gusts in excess of 50 mph in exposed places. but feeling relatively mild, 12—14 celsius. as we head through saturday night, there will be a lot of cloud, we'll see outbreaks of rain moving very slowly eastward through scotland, hanging on across parts of northern ireland and getting into northwest england, parts of wales and the southwest, as well, but a much milder start to sunday morning. and our frontal system will continue to trudge its way eastwards through the day. and really, i think this weather front is going to break up into showers, so it won't be raining all the time. but we are going to see some even milder weather, if anything, spreading northwards across the uk. so, this is sunday's forecast — we will see a lot of cloud to start off, some outbreaks of rain tending to break up into showers with some sunny spells developing, too. a brisk wind once again but, because that wind is coming from the south, it is going to feel really quite mild with temperatures getting to 14—15, maybe 16 celsius in 1—2 places. but what about the coming week? we are going to see further frontal systems pushing in from the west. a potential warm weather front could become quite slow moving out towards the north and west of the uk. a bit of uncertainty about that, but we can certainly see quite a lot of rain in some northern and western areas. but there is some mild weather to come, as well, with brisk south—westerly winds. and the further south you are, the better chance of staying dry at least for a few days. and here, temperatures could climb all the way to 18 celsius. this is bbc news, the headlines... the actor alec baldwin has expressed his shock and sadness after he accidentally shot two people on the set of his new film. the cinematographer, halyna hutchins, was killed the eu has accused belarus of recruiting migrants in the middle east and pushing them into europe, and said the government there is planning to issue visa waivers to even more countries. eu leaders said the matter will lead to them taking further action against minsk. scientists advising the british government say stricter covid measures should be made ready for "rapid deployment". however, prime minister boris johnson has insisted "plan b" for england isn't needed yet. the latest estimates suggest 1.1 million people in the uk had the virus last week. now on bbc news, it's time for click.