this is bbc news. i'm nkem ifejika. our top stories: historic help. the so—called video assistant referee makes its debut, callling a penalty for france. also in the city, the moment a taxi driver tries to flee after crashing into fans. he says it was an accident, eight people are taken to hospital. homes charred, people carrying fresh scars,violence continues in nicaragua just a day after the government and opposition called a ceasefire. anger in athens as greece's pm survives a no confidence vote over a deal to rename macedonia. selfies and celebrations. extraordinary scenes in afghanistan as taliban militants and security forces come together during a ceasefire for eid. hello and welcome to bbc news.

a little bit of history was made at the football world cup in russia on saturday. the first use of the so—called video assistant referee. france were the beneficiaries — awarded a penalty in their match against australia. elsewhere, iceland continued their impressive form at recent international tournaments, holding argentina to a 1—1 draw. there were also wins for denmark and croatia, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports. ole, ole, ole! aussie, aussie! some fans have come a long way for this. many are bringing reminders from home. others aiming to win new recruits. that wonderful moment at the beginning of a tournament when anything seems possible. we're headed for a 2—1 australia win. 2-0. 2—0, all right! we're hoping! australia 3—1, australia

to win against the french. whatever the result, this match did seem a world cup first — the video assistant referee — var — awarding a penalty to france. these socceroos got a penalty of their own in the second half, making it 1—1. but paul pogba scored a late winner. the french were up and running. var seemed to be contagious. another spot kick this time awarded to peru. but you still have to put them in the back of the net. that miss proved crucial. yussuf poulsen, who conceded a penalty scored in the second half, denmark winning1—0. in group d, sergio aguero gave argentina the lead against iceland. but it was soon i—i. alfred finnbogason equalising for the smallest nation taking part. in the second half, lionel messi had the chance to win it, but his penalty was easily saved. and in group d's other match, an own goal and a missed spot kick from luka modric helped croatia

to a 2—0 win over nigeria. tim allman, bbc news. and to keep up to date with what's going on in the world cup, go to the bbc sport website. we'll have all the team news, results and fixtures building up to the final on july 15th. go to bbc.com/worldcup. police in moscow are questioning a man after a taxi veered into pedestrians near red square, injuring eight people. some of those hurt were mexican football fans visiting the city for the world cup. the mayor of moscow said the driver — a kyrgyz national — lost control of the vehicle. sarah rainsford reports from moscow. in a video from the scene, the yellow taxi turns sharply from a queue of traffic and ploughs into the crowd on the pavement, scooping up and carrying several people along on its bonnet before crashing into a road sign. the driver then leaps out and sprints off, pursued by others in the crowd, including fans in football shirts. translation: there were mexicans, people were screaming.

the only thing that stopped him is that he had crashed into the pillar, into the street sign. people who saw him, normal people, detained him. he started driving over people. people were everywhere, they were walking, there was absolutely no room. he was pulled out of the car and he started running. he jumped out and then the witnesses caught him. security is high here in russia, with the world cup under way and thousands of foreign fans visiting. moscow's mayor has called what has happened close to red square "an unpleasant incident," and reports from two russian news agencies suggests the driver might have fallen asleep at the wheel and pressed the accelerator accidentally. according to their embassy, two mexicans are among those who were hurt, but not seriously. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. at least seventeen people have been killed in a stampede at a nightclub outside the venezuelan capital

caracas, after a tear gas canister was detonated. at least eight of the dead are children. the club was packed with students celebrating the end of the school year. the former boss of france telecom and six other members of his team are to be tried in connection with an alleged culture of harassment at the firm that's been linked to dozens of suicides. the former managers are accused of trying to make employees resign in order to cut thousands ofjobs. there's been more violence in nicaragua a day after the government and the opposition agreed a ceasefire to end nearly two months of unrest. negotiations are continuing under the mediation of the country's catholic church, but neither side seems capable of controlling the violent groups responsible for the deaths of more than a 175 people in the past two months. i asked out editor whether the deal

was having any effect on the grounds that it -- was having any effect on the grounds that it —— on the ground. less than 2a hours after the deal there was a arson attack on a shop on a property. it is a mattress business, the family lived upstairs. it is six people of the same family were at least killed, including two children. what the neighbours described is that those who tried to help to put out the fire were threatened by armed people who started this fire. the opposition even threatened not to take part in talks that are happening, to pull out. but eventually they decided to say that that is what they wanted to give up, the talks. it was an attack on the even with two months of violence, it was a attack that shocked nicaragua. the government and the opposition, they didn't seem

to be able to really control this paramilitary militia, this squad behind most of the violence. surely at some point, both groups have got to control those who are on the ground so that the violence doesn't escalate and doesn't continue? politically they are very split. this all started with a complaint about cuts to the pensions system and social security, it soon became a challenge against the government of daniel ortega, the former leader who has been in powerfor 11 years. many people think it is too long, that he should go. he is saying in the talks that the catholic church is mediating, he is saying that he is not going to go. his term ends in 2021, he still has three years to go and will not accept earlier elections. both sides seem to be stuck on that. there were talks that fail before

and unless there is a agreement, i think we will continue to see violence in nicaragua. greek prime minister alexis tsipras has survived a no—confidence vote in parliament over a deal to end a decades—old dispute over the name of neighbouring macedonia. the macedonian leader agreed a deal to rename the country north macedonia, in exchange for greece stopping its block on the countryjoining the eu and nato. but the idea has met with fierce opposition in both countries, as andrew plant reports. protesters gathered in the greek capital, clashing with police outside parliament, as the prime minister survived a vote of no confidence inside. proving that ending this 27 year dispute will not be easy. translation: the politicians have no right to do this. they are traitors, it is treason. this state is planning

to tarnish years of history. it does not have the trust of the greek people, we will refuse to honour the deal. when yugoslavia split into seven nations in 1991, the area north of the greek border called itself macedonia. but greece already has a region called macedonia. the agreement now to rename their neighbour as north macedonia. it might seem a small issue to outsiders, but greeks fiercly protective of their macedonia region. it's the cradle of alexander the great‘s empire, their legendary ancient warrior king. the agreement reached this week was supposed to satisfy both sides.

instead, the issues proved so sensitive to some have called for the whole greek government to go. prime minister alexis tsipras has argued that the pact will stabilise the region. the deal is due to be signed at the border between the two countries on sunday, although more demonstrations are now planned to take place outside that ceremony. andrew plant, bbc news. the migrant rescue ship the aquarius, is heading for the spanish port of valencia where it's expected to dock on sunday. it follows italy's refusal to accept the vessel which has 600 people on board. meanwhile, a further 900 people have been rescued by spanish coastguards in the waters off morocco. bill hayton reports. spirits are high for the rescue ship to get aquarius and its people on board. a week ago, they almost drowned off the coast of libya and they have been sourcing italy's political battles. now they are headed to safety in spain. on the

quayside in valencia, hundreds of humanitarians getting ready to receive them. translation: vulnerable people are travelling on aquarius, and now on the italian vessels including children and pregnant women. there is also a group of people have suffered burns, some of second—degree burns are due to the mixed water and fuel. in general, medical teams are used to these types of situations and patients are stable. but it is clear that such a long trip in such vast conditions does not help. wild scenes like this push migration at the political agenda, the number of people crossing the mediterranean appears to be actually falling. according to the un's migration agency, in the first of this year it was less than half of what it was last year. in italy, it has fallen even more dramatically to a quarter of last year ‘s figure. that is partly because numbers arriving in spain and greece have risen slightly. this group of 900 people

arrived in the port of algeciras after being rescued off the coast of morocco. translation: we are trying to get a minimum of humanitarian conditions to accommodate these people. now we are proceeding to identify them and taking them to police stations to begin the immigration procedures. the aquarius is due to dock on sunday, spain's new socialist government is promising free medical treatment for those on board. each one will have their case for a silent investigated. they are the lucky ones, so far this year 800 others are known to have drowned before they could reach safety. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we hear from the we hearfrom the man we hear from the man who forced the israeli military to allow gay and lesbian soldiers to serve. there was a bomb in the city centre. a code word known to be one used by the ira was given. army bomb experts were examining

a suspect van when there was a huge explosion. the south african parliament has destroyed the foundation of apartheid by abolishing the population registration act, which for a0 years forcibly classified each citizen according to race. germany's parliament, the bundestag, has voted by a narrow majority to move the seat of government from bonn to berlin. berliners celebrated into the night but the decision was greeted with shock in bonn. just a day old, and the royal baby is tonight sleeping in his cot at home. early this evening, the new prince was taken by his mother and father to their apartments in kensington palace. the real focus of attention today was valentina tereshkova, the world's first woman cosmonaut. what do you think of the russian woman in space? i think it's a wonderful achievement and i think we might be able to persuade the wife, it would be a good idea, if i could, to get her to go up there for a little while. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: the video assistant referee has made its debut. identifying a penalty for france, helping them defeat australia 2—1. and there has been fresh violence in nicaragua just a day after the government and opposition called for a ceasefire. eight people died on saturday including six members of a family whose house was burnt down. a group of students in the united states has sued harvard university for allegedly discriminating against asian—americans in its admissions policy. the group, students for fair admissions, says the prestigious university preferred applications from whites, blacks and hispanics at the expense of academically more deserving asian students. it also said that harvard itself had come to the same conclusion in its own research in 2013 but had buried the report. the university denied the allegations. in a statement it said "thorough and comprehensive analysis

of the data and evidence makes clear that harvard college does not discriminate against applicants from any group, including asian—americans, whose rate of admission has grown 29% over the last decade. ilya shapiro is a seniorfellow in constitutional studies at the cato institute and editor—in—chief of the cato supreme court review. hejoins us from church falls virginia. thank you so much forjoining us on saturday evening. in your opinion from what you have seen from the evidence, do you think harvard discriminates against asian—americans? discriminates against asian-americans? the data seemed damning. qualified applicants have

grown exponentially, but the ratio has maintained at a certain level. it seems there are certain qualitative scores based on personality, likeability, these kinds of things, so they are rated lower than other ethnic and racial groups. the court still has to decide. it is early in the litigation. it looks bad for harvard university. full disclosure, i spent time there. i am a princeton man. there is some bias. other ivy league is have similar methods. african americans, 1a.6%. in your view, they would have to take away from one of these other minority groups. what do you want harvard to do? to take more

qualified applicants. it is ironic it is harvard in the crosshairs of this lawsuit. it is a very prestigious university so it is a good str move to sue them rather than someone else. —— pr. they had a history in the 20s, 30s, 40s, of putting a limit onjews. a similar thing could be going on here. one of the things harvard will and has said before, all of those who get into harvard are full of fight regardless of ethnicity. -- qualified. that is true depending on how are you defining qualified. those with the same qualifications, not just academic, extracurricular, volunteering, playing the violin, a

good athlete, if they are equal, and it seems like a breath still determines a whole lot. it is hard to get in if you are asian, a little easier if you are white. ok. thank you very much for coming in and joining us. it was my pleasure. there have been extraordinary scenes in the afghan capital, kabul, where taliban militants have joined eid celebrations, embracing security forces. it's the result of the ceasefire which the government would like to extend. the peace was broken however after an attack by islamic state killed 20 in eastern afghanistan earlier on saturday. here's anbarasan ethirajan. for many afghans, these are extraordinary scenes. taliban militants crossing over front lines

to celebrate eid with officials and soldiers. the two sides were fighting each other just a few days ago. the unprecedented development was due to a three—day ceasefire declared for the muslim religious festival of eid. in some places, soldiers were hugging taliban fighters and exchanging eid greetings. dozens of unarmed taliban fighters also entered the capital city, kabul. the interior minister, wais ahmad barmak, met taliban fighters briefly, an almost unthinkable encounter a few days ago. but the taliban says it is only temporary. translation: we don't have a problem with afghan police and afghan forces. we fight because there are foreigners in our country. there are americans in our country. we fight americans if we see them now, and we will fight them after the ceasefire has finished. the truth has been widely observed in most parts of afghanistan,

but the ceasefire was marred by a suicide attack in nangarhar province. despite the breach, the afghan president, ashraf ghani, wants the ceasefire to continue. translation: i have ordered afghan security and defence forces to extend the ceasefire from monday, the fourth day of eid. more details of the ceasefire will be shared with the nation soon. i also urge the taliban to extend their ceasefire. the war—weary afghans want an end to the cycle of violence. for the moment, the temporary ceasefire has raised hopes of permanent peace. in june 1993, the israeli military was forced into changing its policy on gay and lesbian soldiers, granting them equal access at all levels of the institution. before that, high ranking officers who were found to be gay were barred

from access to sensitive material, or more often than not, demoted to a morejunior rank. uzi evan is a former colonel in the intelligence wing of the israeli defence forces, he was also the country's first openly gay member of the knesset. he's been telling our history programme witness, about how he forced change on the military. ijoined the military and i served in the formal service and then as a reserve officer for almost 20 years. i was up to the level of colonel in the intelligence. the law at the time was that if you are known to be gay, you cannot have access to classified information. because of the belief

that they were prone to extortion. the atmosphere in israel was such that you didn't talk about gays, like something to be ashamed of. i had to live like that, in the shadows. it's not a pleasant way of living. being in the closet is very difficult. in 1982, there was a security clearance check. people came here and asked about how i live here and at that time, i had a lover with me, living together. that was enough to cause an avalanche of events that ended in my being demoted to a low—ranking clerical position. no reasons were given, it was like a slap in the face. until i decided, it's time to fight back. in 1993, yael dayan was a member of parliament, decided to organise the first debate in the knesset about gay issues. i was the main speaker and i was very apprehensive.

i didn't know how people would react. up to that time, no single gay person of high social ranking would come out and say, "i am gay, look". the main message of my speech was that we want to be the same as you. we don't demand anything that you don't have. we want to be allowed to continue in the military and other parts of society. i was called to the prime minister's office. he says, what do you want? i said that what happened to me will not happen again. so we started negotiating with the military experts and it took a very short time because three months after i started my campaign, the law was signed by the chief of staff of the israeli military. the new law starts with the words that the israeli defence forces do not discriminate against gays. it was quite revolutionary. in 2004, i was the first openly gay member of parliament to be elected which created a lot of uproar. nowadays, i live openly as a public figure, if you want. i have a husband who is with me.

i have an adopted son who is also gay. everybody around me knows i am gay so i feel at peace with my environment. was it worth it? for me, yes. idid it.

i managed to change the law. the retired israeli colonel and former politician, uzi even, speaking to the bbc‘s witness programme. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm at nkem ifejika. i promised i would tweet about the world cup. i don't know if i'm going to keep doing that. thanks for watching. hello.

on saturday, the weather was a little hit and miss across the north. we had some downpours and thunderstorms. we are not expecting that on sunday. however, sunday is expected to be a cloudy day across much of the country. it may remain overcast right through the afternoon and into the evening across some western areas with a bit of light rain or drizzle. through the early hours, you can see the clear skies across some parts of the uk and as a result, quite chilly in rural spots. but this cloud will be over us on sunday but at least it won't be pouring with rain. through the early hours, you can see the clearer skies across eastern and northern areas. towards the west, we have the encroaching crowd, carried by an atlantic breeze. temperatures in the south first thing will be around 13 degrees, cooler in scotland, possibly as low as four degrees first thing in the morning. it starts off quite bright across eastern counties but quickly the clouds will increase.

around some of the coastal areas, thick cloud and drizzle at times but also a few glimmers of brightness. however, the best chance of sunshine, i think, on sunday, across northern and eastern parts of scotland. aberdeen getting up to 19 celsius. that is how it will end on sunday. cloudy. here's a quick look at the pollen levels, you can see they are pretty high across england but with the winds coming in off the atlantic, just moderate levels across the west of the uk. as we go through monday and tuesday, we will progressively see the weather systems moving towards the north. still, some weather fronts slicing across the northern half of the uk. the trend will be for warmer air to start wafting in from the south so temperatures are expected to gradually rise across the southern half of the uk through the week. monday starts of sunny across eastern and southern areas. we have the weather fronts moving into scotland, northern ireland and the north—west. there will be a bit of rain here.

low pressure to the north. look at the weather in the south. lots of sunshine and temperatures getting into the mid—20s. as we go through tuesday and wednesday, the temperatures are expected to rise even further. the warmth, as it comes in from the south, doesn't quite reach scotland or northern ireland. it turns and ends up in continental europe. the temperatures are only expected to rise across the southern half of the uk. the mid—high 20s in london but in aberdeen, temperatures will be closer to the teens. that is the latest from me. bye bye. the so—called video referee has made its world cup debut, helping france defeat australia 2—1. police in moscow are questioning a man after a taxi veered into pedestrians near red square. some of those hurt by mexican football fans. there's been fresh violence in nicaragua just a day after the governent and opposition called a ceasefire. eight people died on saturday, including six members of one family

whose home was burned down at dawn. there have been protests in greece after that prime minister alexis tsipras survived a no—confidence vote brought by the opposition after he struck a controversial deal over the renaming of neighbouring macedonia. now on bbc news, it's dateline london.