Secret Service agents wrestled the assailant, John Hinckley, to the ground

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President Ronald Reagan has been shot and wounded after a lone gunman opened fire in Washington.

He is currently undergoing emergency surgery at George Washington University Hospital but there are unconfirmed reports he walked in unaided.

Initial reports claim he may have a punctured lung.

Five to six shots were fired as he left the Washington Hilton Hotel where he had been addressing a union convention, about one mile from the White House.

A man, firing at close range, also wounded White House Press Secretary James Brady in the head.

A Secret Service official and a Washington policeman were also injured before the gunman was pushed to the ground by police.

The president had appeared from the hotel smiling and walked towards his limousine turning momentarily to acknowledge calls from the waiting press.

A burst of gunfire was then heard before the president was bundled into a bullet proof limousine and whisked away.

First Lady Nancy Reagan is understood to be on her way to the hospital to visit her 70-year-old husband.

The attacker is described as being in his twenties and blonde.

He was pinned to the wall by secret service agents and he has now been arrested.

The assassination attempt has sent shock waves around the country where memories of the murder of president John F Kennedy remain vivid.

President Reagan has only been in office for 69 days and the attack leaves the running of the country in some confusion as his vice-president George Bush is currently on his way back from Texas.

Until the arrival of Vice-President Bush it is unclear who is in charge.

The American Stock Exchange has stopped trading and the Academy Awards have been postponed until tomorrow night in the wake of the attacks.

Tributes are flooding in for the Queen Mother

The Queen was at her mother's bedside when she passed away at 1515 GMT today at the Royal Lodge, Windsor.

The news was announced by Buckingham Palace about two and a half hours later.

Prince Charles, who was especially close to his grandmother, is said to be "completely devastated" and is returning early from a skiing holiday in Switzerland with his sons Princes William and Harry.

Tibutes

Hundreds of people have begun paying their respects for the "fairy tale grandmother" at royal palaces.

Tributes have been flooding in from across the world and from all corners of society.

Prime Minister Tony Blair led the tributes with a statement from his country retreat of Chequers.

"During her long and extraordinary life, her grace, her sense of duty and her remarkable zest for life made her loved and admired by people of all ages and backgrounds, revered within our borders and beyond," he said.

Plans for her mourning and burial - which have been in place for many years - have swung into action.

There will be 10 days of national mourning until a ceremonial funeral at Westminster Abbey at 1130 BST on Tuesday 9 April.

The Queen Mother's coffin will rest at Windsor for three days and then it will be taken to the Queen's Chapel at St James' Palace.

It will be carried in ceremonial procession to Westminster Hall where, after a service, it will lie in state until the eve of the funeral.

It will rest on the same spot where her husband King George VI lay in state in February 1952.

A contingent of Gentleman at Arms and Yeomen of the Guard will guard it round the clock.

The Queen mother will then be laid to rest beside her husband in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

The ashes of her daughter, Princess Margaret, who died seven weeks ago, will beinterredat the same time.

inter: To place in a grave or tomb; bury（埋葬）