welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: hong kong heads into another day of disturbance. thousands take to the streets against plans to allow extradition to china. trump and biden trade barbs, as they host campaign events for the 2020 election. a rare move by moscow, as mounting pressure from the media sees a reporter released. the tariff war with china leaves a sour taste for california winemakers as business dries up.

in hong kong people are gathering in large numbers for more demonstrations against a controversial extradition law. thousands have already held a vigil overnight. atjust after 9 in the morning local time, this is the scene live outside the legislative council in hong kong, where the bill is due for a second round of debate shortly. the legco is very pro—beijing, and it is likely to pass the bill allowing extradition to mainland china. there were huge protests last sunday too, but the government has said it will push on with the proposed law. critics are saying that the use of torture arbitrary detentions and confessions in the chinese judicial system is very unwelcome, that people should be sent to for trial. the government has promised legally binding human rights safeguards and other measures, it says should alleviate concerns that all this has

led to the biggest rally the territory has seen since it was handed back to china by the british in 1997. so how likely is it that the government will back down? claudia mo is a legislator and democracy advocate in hong kong. carrie lam has been conducting her business rather like a little puppet of the beijing government. she just does what beijing tells her to do. it is a very sad scenario. she is really approaching this governance crisis in hong kong and she has completely lost any credibility amongst the people here. she seems to fail to understand people's profound distrust of this lack of rule of law in china. they have already changed rules and things at the local legislature to try to speed up the procedures to have this very controversial bill

passed by next week, by next thursday at the latest, thursday week. we have been telling this hong kong government that, please, just scrap this bill for the time being, and listen to the people because the exclusion of china from hong kong's extradition arrangements was done purposefully, back in 1997, because of people's fear of china lack of fair trial and humane punishments. you can'tjust push something through it like that and this thing is notjust going to affect hong kong people alone. anyone living orjust passing through hong kong could face some, i don't know, trumped up charges or packaged crimes. this is just fear they are trying

to instill into hong kong. that's take you back to live pictures right now, it has been heavy rain, but several thousand people have turned out, there is also a heavy police presence and young people have been stopped and searched. the democracy group posted on facebook calling foreclosures gci’oss on facebook calling foreclosures across hong kong and more than 100 businesses including at least one magazine said they would shut to another staff to for freedom. financial companies have also made flexible work arrangements for wednesday and there the 4000 teachers said they would strike. i think we have contact our with the bbc corresponded. back to martin yip in hong kong. around 45 minutes we have a few thousand protesters, mainly young people i can say. many of them

storming towards legislative council building but iron barricades that we re building but iron barricades that were left by the power —— police, of. there is a bit of calm at the moment, riot police trying to run over but there haven't seem to be in any clashes now. the main organiser of the protest is putting up some sort of a stage. they wanted to stand there and expand the area. it's a bit tense at this very moment. given the make up of the organisation, this law will go through? the council is mainly made up through? the council is mainly made up of probation legislators, if 70 people in the council, there is only 69 left, but because of what happened a few years ago, we call it

the disqualification saga if you like wet the newly elected per democracy, rather radical pro—democracy scheme is because of the way they took their oath. so they are, the pro—democracy candidate is down to a very small corner. they have no ability this as it is looking grim for them if they can't stop this bill going anywhere as of now. when i were likely to know for sure? when is the decisive vote 7 know for sure? when is the decisive vote? all the way until next week, the planned time will be next thursday but if by any chance they got kicked out of the chamber because of bad behaviour, otherwise

we have to look at next thursday. that is outside the protest in hong kong. president donald trump has branded his leading democratic opponentjoe biden a "dummy." mr biden, the front—runner for the democratic candidacy in next year's election, accused the president of damaging the reputation of the united states. let's get a flavour of how that spat developed. joe biden is a dummy. joe biden is a dummy. the way he calls people the name he calls them. i heard that joe calls people the name he calls them. i heard thatjoe biden was a loser. nope resident has done something like that for god sake. nope resident has done something like that for god sakelj nope resident has done something like that for god sake. i called him 196 like that for god sake. i called him 1%job like that for god sake. i called him 1% job because until 0bama like that for god sake. i called him 1%job because until 0bama came along, he didn't do very well. as we used to stay in the business, my friend donald trump. i'd rather run againstjoe biden than anybody. i think is the weakest mental level. againstjoe biden than anybody. i think is the weakest mental levellj think is the weakest mental levellj thinkjoe the think is the weakest mental levellj think joe the weakest think is the weakest mental levellj thinkjoe the weakest appeal. this isa

thinkjoe the weakest appeal. this is a guy that does everything to separate and frightened people. the man has to mention my name, 76 times ina man has to mention my name, 76 times in a speech, that means he's in trouble. it is about fear and loathing. i have to tell you, he is a different guy, he looks different than he is, he acts different than he used to, he is even slower than he used to, he is even slower than he used to be. it is bizarre and it's damaging and i think he is genuinely a threat to our core values. i don't know but what he mentions my name that many times, i guess i should be competent. —— complimented. let's talk to our north america correspondent david willis. what does all this amount to? what does it mean for 2020? this is the first time this two candidates have campaigned in the same state of the same day. at that in the rural state of iowa. even before the main campaign events got under way, the gloves ca m e campaign events got under way, the gloves came off, joe biden and elect

extra ct gloves came off, joe biden and elect extract from his main speech calling donald trump an existential threat to america. the prompting that brother robust response from donald trump in which he called the former vice president a dummy and a loser. despite the rather crowded democratic field, donald trump clearly believes that it's going to come down to a race between him and the former vice president. and given his experience and his name recognition, joe biden could actually constitute a threat to donald trump, particularly amongst the blue—collar workers whom trump so the blue—collar workers whom trump so successfully mood and one back in 2016. there is a new poll out i should tell you, which shows that joe biden is 13 points ahead of donald trump at the moment. polling very well amongst black voters and female voters. so i think what we're going to see is the president adopting the same sort of tactic that he adopted back in 2016, but

basically questioning the mental and physical health of his rival. as he did against hillary clinton. it's fertile ground, perhaps, becausejoe biden is 76 years of age and if elected he will be the oldest person to ta ke elected he will be the oldest person to take residence in the white house. that said, of course, donald trump himself turns 73 on friday. still some way to go yet. courts in the southern african nation of botswana have ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality. judges said the the laws in place for over fifty years were oppressive and unconstitutional. today's decision was watched closely by campaigners across africa, as milton nkosi reports, from johannesburg. cheers ofjubilation cheers of jubilation in cheers ofjubilation in botswana ‘s capital. today in the country ‘s

high court, where judges capital. today in the country ‘s high court, wherejudges unanimously overturned laws banning homosexuality that have been in place since the 60s. saying they we re place since the 60s. saying they were in conflict with the country ‘s constitution. and it was a matter of human dignity. 0utside constitution. and it was a matter of human dignity. outside the court, campaigners gathered to celebrate the landmark ruling they have been fighting for. we are here to support ourselves after winning the case. we are here today come we say we are making history so that people may know who we are and we can express that feeling and express that love. i fell at right now this is the first step. my will have to be done so first step. my will have to be done so people get to feel the change, see the change and be part of the change. this landmark ruling in botswa na change. this landmark ruling in botswana has been closely followed right across the african continent. particularly right here in south africa. this —— the question is, will it have a domino effect? activists welcomed the decision and

said that it is a significant step for gay rights on the african continent. as part of the judgement which is now law in botswana, the judges spoke about the need for a more inclusive society and waiters important for society to become more inclusive and waiters to the benefit of everyone, they spoke about the fa ct of everyone, they spoke about the fact that the law was clonal error there was no place for it in modern societies and i think that it's quite important that the judges did not just the decision quite important that the judges did notjust the decision based on law that also spoke aboutjustice. homosexuality is legal in some african countries. many others still think being gay is an african. we said as the evangelical fellowship of botswana, are totally against homosexuality and lesbians. and our argument is based on the word of god

because the bible says, homosexuality is sin. today's landmark ruling in botswana is the final handle for lgbt people in the country. —— hurdle. after years of campaigning they can live and love freely. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: could eating insects get the royal seal of approval, the dutch king opens a new bug farm. the day the british liberated the falklands. and by tonight, british troops had begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the german capital, this was gorby—mania at its height. the crowd packed to see the man who for them,

has raised great hopes for an end to the division of europe. michaeljackson was not guilty on all charges. the screams of the crowd, a testament to his popularity and their faith in his innocence. as long as they'll pay to go see me, i'll get out there and kick 'em down the hill. what does it feel like to be the first man to go across the channel by your own power? it feels pretty neat. feels marvellous, really. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: thousands are gathering in hong kong to protest against plans to allow extradition to china. and thousands have been there overnight. the world health organization says the current outbreak of ebola in eastern congo has spread

to neighbouring uganda. the first patient outside the democratic republic of congo is a 5—year—old congolese boy who travelled across the border into western uganda. so far, more than 2,000 cases have been reported in eastern congo. a rapid response team is being deployed to deal with the spread of the disease. anne rimoin is associate professor of epidemiology at ucla fielding school of public health. i know you are and internationally recognised expert on infectious diseases and leading a team looking at the effectiveness of the vaccine in the drc. what are you making of it so far? thank you very much. 0ur thank you very much. our work is suggesting that the vaccine is in fa ct suggesting that the vaccine is in fact doing a good job at providing immunity. we are at the very beginning stages of our research and

oui’ beginning stages of our research and our analyses, but the work that has happened so far that the vaccine is doing a good job. and professor, you know better than anybody, this is a serious outbreak. and reports of one member of staff being infected despite being vaccinated ? member of staff being infected despite being vaccinated? i am not aware of that specific piece of information, but there are cases of healthcare workers who have in fact been infected with the ebola virus and passed, so that is not com pletely and passed, so that is not completely surprising. and whether 01’ completely surprising. and whether or not they were vaccinated or infected with the virus before vaccination occurred is not going to be clear until an investigation has been doubly done. how concerned are you by the spread of at least one

case in uganda? i think this case in uganda is important because it suggests that of course cases can ci’oss suggests that of course cases can cross the border. what we do know is there is great collaboration and co—ordination between the democratic republic of congo and uganda, and this is a perfect example of that case being quickly identified. to me, this suggests a very strong co—ordination between ministries of health and personnel and very good work in terms of finding people very quickly and isolating them and mounting response efforts. are you finding the medical teams are able generally to work safely? the teams are working under great duress. they are working under great duress. they are working under great duress. they are working very long hours, they are working very long hours, they are working very long hours, they are working under difficult conditions and they are working with the threat of violence. conditions and they are working with the threat of violencelj conditions and they are working with the threat of violence. i think the teams are doing an excellentjob under the conditions that are very difficult and i think that it's

definitely a challenge. professor, thank you so much for giving us your time. thank you. russia has released an investigative journalist less than a week after he was put under house arrest on spurious drugs charges. ivan golunov had been writing about high—level corruption, and many saw the case against him as politically motivated. it's a rare instance of the russian authorities backing down under public pressure as ramzan karmali reports. the moments ivan golunov became a free man again. translation: thank you very much for all the support. i still hardly understand what is happening. i'm happy justice has been understand what is happening. i'm happyjustice has been served and the criminal case was dropped. i hope the investigation will continue andi hope the investigation will continue and i hope no—one will find themselves in the same situation

that i did. mr ivan golunov's employer, meduza, saluted the government for a rare climbdown stop his detention last week provoked angen his detention last week provoked anger, with many saying he was framed because of his investigations into corruption. russian authorities we re into corruption. russian authorities were eventually forced into an embarrassing climbdown and suspended the officers involved. generation mac it will be a check on the legality —— translation: there would be a check in the galaxy of the actions of those police officers —— legality. multiple newspapers launched a synchronised defence of mr ivan golunov. journalist in the country one action to be taken. —— journalist. there has been a mistake, a crime, and the people who

organise this crime will be held accountable and victory will only be real when those people are behind bars. ivan golunov has vowed to carry on his investigative work. translation: i will continue the work that i was doing and carry out investigations because i need to justify the trust in me that those who supported me have shown. this is fantastic. plans were being made very demonstration in moscow on wednesday, it was clear to everyone, including the authorities, that this case was not going to go away quietly. ramzan karmali, bbc news. we mentioned the spat between president trump and joe biden earlier in the programme. among the attacksjoe biden made on tuesday is that tariffs are having a devastating impact on american farmers and consumers. california's wine industry is one of those being hit hard. president trump says he's either going to make a great deal with china — or no deal at all. but california vineyards have

seen their sales to china fall — and many are worried about the future — as the bbc‘s sophie long reports. the lush landscape of california's wine country. across this fertile land, concern is growing, as family businesses feel the impact of the tension between the world's two biggest economies. right here you guys will see a sauvignon blanc block planted in 1999. ijoined an eco tour at honig's vineyard. customers learn about their sustainable winemaking. it's a crucial source of income for the third generation producers. their business with china has collapsed completely. 0ur china business has gone to zero. the top year was 1,000 cases, and now we're back down to zero. so in ten, a little over ten years, it's gone up and then down. a bottle that used to cost $100 on the shelf at retail in china now costs $200 and that's not for any fault, anything different that we are doing. we've gone to china, we see the market is interested in our wine, and then you get one more round of these stupid tariffs, they're just impacting us for no reason.

china is the fastest—growing and will likely soon become the largest wine market in the world. meanwhile, sales at home are declining, which is starting to rattle nerves. the older wine—loving generation are retiring. millennials seem to prefer spirits or recently legalised marijuana. another layer of tariffs is another unwelcome challenge. the first time, it's like, oh, my god, what are we going to do? and the second time, i think we've been here. the third time, you know, it'sjust piling on. you can't get any deeper than that. you think the point that the chinese market is at, you've got a growing middle—class, people who are going to be buying wine who wouldn't have been before, that's the time you need to be there, right? exactly, now is the time we want to be there and be able to develop that and so, you know, i'll be going this fall and continue to bang the drum

about california wines. the great hope here is that an agreement will be reached that will erase the tariffs that existed in the first place. then wine producers could end up the winners in this trade war. the wine institute says as californians, they think big and they're confident that will carry them through. it's just part of our nature to dream big, to be freethinkers. we apply that to wine growing and winemaking, and what comes out of it is this incredibly rich and exciting wine industry. we rise to that challenge. and that's part of what keeps us going forward. president nixon helped put napa wine on the world map when he raised a glass of it in a toast to peace with china. those who work in the valley‘s vineyards hope that president trump will do similar, and soon.

the world is full of insects. by some estimates they outnumber us by a ratio of 200 million to one, and they are a vital part of the world's ecosystem. now, a huge new insect farm has opened in the netherlands, hoping to use them as a sustainable source of protein. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. they fascinate some, they horrify others. but insects help make the world go round. so important are they that the dutch king came to open this new insect farm near the border with belgium. he was getting a little hands—on, examining close—up a potentially vital source of food. fish, chicken, they all eat insects, the new ecology we bring into markets and the new product we bring into markets is entirely new to the world. some call it an alternative protein, we call it

protein, because needs and has actually already defined it already. this facility could potentially churn out tons of insects ground into paste. if given the go—ahead by the european union, that pace could be used as a source or as a type of fertiliser. potentially providing sustainable solutions. by managing that whole process under one roof, we can lower food waste, improve high—quality proteins, and this is oui’ high—quality proteins, and this is our contribution to creating a food balance with nature. these insects could become a vital food source or sea life and livestock stop something so small helping to solve a problem that's pretty big. tim 0ldman, bbc news. —— tim allman. these are live pictures in hong kong, 9:30 am local time. people gathering in large numbers at to

protest against a controversial x traditional law. the bill is due for a second round of debate shortly. that is it for now. thank you. some really miserable weather out there at the moment, pouring with rain across the north, but it's notjust here in the uk where we're getting the really unsettled weather. in fact, much of western europe, all the way down to spain and portugal are experiencing below average temperatures and quite changeable weather. now there's a big low pressure which is stuck across northern france, around the channel here, and as long as there is low pressure here things aren't going to change. it will remain very, very unsettled. winds coming in across the north of europe but the winds will have to swing back around again. and they are blowing out of the south across central

there's a heatwave there, temperatures in the mid— 30s. that's the yin and yang of weather. one side of europe is hot and sunny and the other side is paying for it and it is cool and very, very wet. so here's the rain, early hours of wednesday morning. the low pressure, we've already established that, it's parked across this part of europe. so you can see spells of unsettled weather there across parts of germany as well. also we'll see thunderstorms drifting out of the south and they will affect southern portions of the uk. notice a bit of a lull in the intensity in the rain over in the north, but that will get heavier later on wednesday. now these blobs here, these are showers. we'll see thunderstorms developing almost anywhere across the southern portion of the uk. there could be some really nasty downpours. now notice how this rain gets heavier as we go into the afternoon, quite menacing, threatening rain clouds. all of that is going to come in and bring a real deluge to parts of northern england, reaching parts of scotland and north—eastern england as well.

a wet wednesday on the way. here's a look at thursday. the winds are blowing around like so, that low pressure's parked itself across the uk. the south, a few sunny spells, yes, but some thunderstorms. the temperatures 14—16 degrees, that's closer to the end of april, sort of may temperatures, really. so the low will wobble around the uk, bringing us again spells of rain and showers as we head towards the end of the week. improving a little bit acorss europe. on balance, unsettled, as we head into the weekend. later there is a sign of things warming up, but not just yet.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: thousands of people are said to be on the streets of hong kong, protesting against a controversial bill that would allow extradition to china. the list of cancel is very pro— beijing, it is likely to pass the bell, it is not. —— passed the bill. many of the protesters are blocking main roads and hundreds of businesses have gone on strike as the controversial proposal has a second reading in parliament. president trump and joe biden have traded barbs as they hosted campaign events ahead of the 2020 us election. donald trump labeled the front—runner for the democratic candidacy a "dummy", while mr biden said donald trump damaged the reputation of the us. in a rare move, a prominent russian journalist, ivan golunov, has been freed just days after being arrested on drugs charges. mr golunov said he would continue looking into corruption, which many russians think was the real reason for his detention.