you're watching bbc news, this is outside source. i'm babita sharma. america is facing its biggest wave of protests for decades. president trump's critics say he's making the situation worse. donald trump has turned this country into a battlefield driven by old resentments and fresh fears. he thinks division helps them. ifa if a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residence, then i will apply their residence, then i will apply the united states military and quickly solve the problem for them.

protests over george floyd's death in police custody have spread to 75 us cities. this is the scene live in new york. condemnation from church leaders after donald trump visits a second religious landmark. the bbc hears from one bishop who calls the president's actions blasphemy. there is no evidence for me that what he is doing in handling this crisis has anything to do with the teachings of the scripture. in the uk — an empty coronavirus test centre — as the government is rebuked by officials for how it presents data on testing. also coming up. an exclusive interview with the man leading afghanistan's peace talks — as a un report claims the taliban are still supporting al-qaeda. welcome. president trump is coming under intense criticism over his response to the biggest wave of protests to engulf america for decades. protests have taken place in 75 us

cities over the death of an unarmed african american man, george floyd, in police custody. president trump has threatened to send in the military if protests aren't brought under control. in the past few hours the democratic party candidate for the us presidenchoe biden had these strong words for the president. the country is crying out for leadership, leadership that can unite us, leadership that brings us together. leadership that can recognise pain and deep grief of communities that have had a knee on their neck for a long time. donald trump has turned this country into a battlefield driven by old resentments and fresh fears. he thinks division helps him. well in the last half hour president turmp has tweeted what he says are his credentials in supporting african americans. he says...

and added — "the best is yet to come". the vast majority of protests have been peaceful — but a minority of protestors have clashed violently with police — despite cu rfews put in place to limit unrest. an officer was shot during protests in las vegas and police said another was involved in a shooting in the same area. in st louis — four police officers were shot during protests. here's the city's police chief. they were standing near a line, and all of a sudden they felt pain, so i did not hear shots and to fight on people that aren't doing anything, they are just standing there. some coward fired shots at officers and i'iow coward fired shots at officers and now we have four in the hospital,

but thankfully and thank god they are alive. he went on to really break down in tears with the anguish she was feeling at the time. across the country, business owners are picking up the pieces after widespread looting and vandalism of shops. attom concept store was among those looted in atlanta. owner zola dias and manager kris shelby say they have lost everything. i'm here for the protests come i'm here for the people getting out there and all of the people getting out there trying to get their voices heard, but the military need to be brought in to stop the looting, because the looting has nothing to do to stop the protesting. new york city has extended a city—wide curfew until the end of the week — after a night of chaos on the streets. crowds of people defied the curfew — the first to be imposed in the city in more than 75 years. looters broke into macy's department store and stole merchandise. other store windows were smashed. police made dozens of arrests.

and this was the aftermath. you can see smashed shopfronts, and debris on the road. this all happened despite a huge police presence, with 8,000 officers deployed. new york city mayor bill de blasio has called for calm. we saw stuff last night that we will not accept. and we can fight back, and we will fight back. i have confidence in the people of new york city, | confidence in the people of new york city, i have confidence in the leaders and communities, i have confidence in the nypd. let's go straight to nada tawfik who is in new york. hardline tactics from president trump about deploying the army to deal with this. yes, and a lot of pushback from officials, notjust the mayor but also the governor. president trump all day has been tweeting that new york needs to call in the national guard. the

efficiency of the say that that is not as needed. or wise or could have outside forces come into the community. already we have had the mayor having to address certain insta nces mayor having to address certain instances he said of excessive police use, but he said for the majority of the police force they are working with the community and several protests kneeling with them and standing with them and they want to make sure that with this curfew they have it start earlier so they are able to distinguish you are out there remembering george floyd and honouring his legacy and what he stands for for this new protest movement from those who are taking advantage of the situation. behind me you see the vandalism and looting that took place here and just part of it that took place across the city. officials here standing firm that the president present rhetoric is not helping and that they do not need the national guard here. stay with us to client to bring our viewers up—to—date with what

happened earlier. president trump is facing a backlash over visits to two religious landmarks in washington. in the past few hours the president and the first lady — melania trump — visited the saintjohn paul ii national shrine in washington. a day earlier — the president appeared at another religious site. here he is outside st john's episcopal church — which is a short walk from the white house and has been used by presidents for more than a century. it had been boarded up after protesters set fire to it the night before. and as you can see he posed for pictures holding a bible. he made the church appearance straight after his first white house address on the nationwide protests — where he warned that he was prepared to bring in the military to quell the violence. ifa if a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residence, then i will deploy their residence, then i will deploy the united states military and quickly solve the problem for them.

as his speech wound up — this was happening in lafayette square — which sits between the white house and the church. military police from the national guard used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash grenades to clear protesters who were peacefully protesting. moments later — the streets were clear for the president to walk to the church. here'sjoe biden again. when peaceful protesters disparaged in orderfor a president, a president from the doorstep of the the white house, using tear gas and flash grenades in order to stage a photo op, a photo op of one of the most historic churches in the country, or at least in washington, dc. we can be forgiven for believing the president is more interested in power than in principle. more interested in serving the passions of his base than the needs of the people in his care. for that's what the presidency is —

the duty to care. many religious leaders have expressed their shock. washington archbishop wilton d. gregory said. "i find it baffling and reprehensible that any catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a fashion that violates our religious principles". while the bishop who overseas st john's episcopal church church told the washington post. i was not given even a courtesy call, that they would be clearing (the area) with tear gas so they could use one and we also heard some strong claims from the bishop of central florida. there is no evidence for me that what he is doing in handling this crisis has anything to do with the teachings of the scripture. and therefore to hold it up as if somehow that supports his position

for me is blasphemous, because it contradicts the very things the scripture teaches. back to nada tawfik in new york. what are his supporters saying and also the republican party, what have they made of his actions today? it's important to note that president trump's approval for the handling important to note that president trump's approvalfor the handling of the situation was really low, especially among evangelicals. many we re especially among evangelicals. many were saying considering he had been out of the public view for two days that he was portrayed friday night having to go underground into a white house bunker, that that bothered the president and did not give from the image of a president in control and showing strength that he liked. many are suggesting that's why he decided to come out with this photo op. we've heard from several top senators, republican senators who have defended the president and say that he was just trying to maintain security and order and had every right to go visit the church which had seen some minor damage.

really interesting to see republicans defending him, but as you say many in the religious community saying particularly not just a follow—up about the way that the violence and targeting protesters with tear gas, on the way to get to the church to hold up a bible was a very troubling for them. a few blocks away from you we can see the seen life of those protests continuing. peacefully at the moment. are you getting a sense of what the atmosphere is like they are and how people are feeling after a chaotic night last night?|j and how people are feeling after a chaotic night last night? i have actually seen a few different peaceful protests throughout this city. one down by the world trade centre where they were praying and singing very peacefully with a very strong police presence around the city just to strong police presence around the cityjust to maintain order. also there was a rally, several black

leaders including reverend al sharpton and hakeem jeffries, a very influential politician in dc, their message was this. if you are right about crowd control and law and order all you are interested in is keeping the black community and their supporters quiet. if you truly are concerned about peace than it's about talking about the way to go towards justice and accountability. that was their main message, that they will keep protesting and are not going to stop, and they don't appreciate the president's conflict rating peaceful protesters with those that they believe are committing violence and looting, and a very separate from those protesters. i have to say many people here making sure to still go out on the street and to remember that this is a larger issue, not just about george floyd but the larger issue of racial inequality in this country.

we should just say that the mayor of new york has extended that night—time curfew until next sunday, that's 8pm to five a:m.. more to come for you in new york. the uk's health secretary, matt hancock, has been criticised by the head of the statistics authority — over the way the government presents figures on testing for coronavirus. sir david norgrove said, the data is "still far from complete and comprehensible" which means "it is not surprising" that the statistics "are so widely criticised and often mistrusted". hugh pym reports. a drive—in testing centre today but with very little activity, as a new debate on precisely how many virus tests have been carried out has flared up. the health secretary matt hancock made great play in recent weeks of the plans to boost testing. i'm now setting the goal of 100,000 tests per day...

currently just over 50,000 tests available... i can announce that we have met our goal... but today he has been criticised by the head of the uk statistics watchdog over the numbers. he cast doubt over how many tests have actually been carried out and on how many people. in his letter sir david norgrove welcome the addition of some new data but added, i'm afraid the figures are still far from complete and comprehensible. the way that the data are analysed and presented currently gives them limited value. the aim seems to be to show the largest possible number of tests, even at the expense of understanding. the health secretary was challenged by labour in the commons. the uk statistics authority wrote to him today to say that his figures are still far from complete and comprehensive, that the statistics still fall well short of standards in the code and this is not suprising testing data is mistrusted. i mean, this quite damning, i have

to say to the secretary of state. we will work with the uk statistics authority to make sure they are happy with how we are publishing that data and to make sure we get the data published in a reasonable and sensible way. the daily figures published show tests for whether people currently have the virus and in one recent day over 128,000 tests were provided. 27,500 were for nhs staff and patients, around 29,400 were people getting tested at drive—in centres. almost 3a,000 were test kits sent out though not yet returned and nearly 28,000 for research and antibody tests, finding out whether someone has already had the virus. the number of people tested is not currently published and official say it will be restored soon after data checks. some like michael have reported delays getting results. they said do not call back for five days, i phoned five days later and they said it is now seven days. i phoned seven days later

than it was nine days. and i have not heard anything since. that was nearly two weeks ago. the government want to extend testing and tracing of people who might be infected in england but the developments today confirmed that there are still many questions about how the system is working. hugh pym, bbc news. stay with us on oustide source, still to come. as rallies are held across the world — in support of the black lives matter movement, we look at howjournalists have come under attack from the police. the government is working on plans to allow air travel from certain low—risk countries. from monday, most people arriving by plane, ferry or train — including uk nationals — must self—isolate for 14 days. but some mps and businesses have expressed concern at the plan, warning it will damage

the travel industry. public health england has suggested that, or confirm that it is looking at tests in trace for people arriving in the uk to the core team might be gotten rid of in the future at some point. the government insists it's working hard to agree with these air bridges, agreements weathers a low infection rate of covid—i9 so that people will not have to self—isolate when they arrive. for a significant number of those deals the infection rate, the prevalence of the virus here in the uk needs to continue to fall and fall significantly, because spain has warned if it doesn't then british tourists will simply not be let in. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. the democratic presidential candidate, joe biden, says america is "crying out

for leadership" — with the protests revealing a country divided by racial tensions. one of the many disturbing elements of the unrest in the us has been the repeated attacks on journalists by the police. ros atkins has been looking at this for us. hi ros. one australian journalist has suggested it's become more dangerous to carry a camera on america's streets than a gun — she was responding to latest police attack on the press — right in front of the white house. this is the moment an australian tv crew were violently moved on. while! and here's the same incident from another angle. the camera man was shoved in the face. the reporter was hit with a baton across her back. and prime minister scott morrison has asked australia's embassy in washington to investigate. well, the us embassy in australia has tweeted.

but not all american police officers seem to share that commitment. here's the washington post detailing numerous attacks on journalists — some estimate there have been more than 100. this articles quotes executive director of the committee to protectjournalists who says: "i've never seen anything quite like this... linda tirado is a freelance photo—journalist. on friday, she was shot with a rubber bullet while covering the protests in minneapolis — and has lost her sight in one eye. this is what she told us: i was lining up a shot, and i caught a projectile from the direction where the police were. protesters came to my age, they grabbed me and put me in their medical van and drove me to the hospital and had me, i was drove me to the hospital and had me, iwas in drove me to the hospital and had me, i was in surgery within an hour. i have been permanently blinded in my left eye.

a bbc team was also targeted. cameraman peter murtaugh was working with our correspondent aleem maqbool in washington earlier this week. it was before curfew and they were both easily identifiable as press. this is what happened. explosion sot meanwhile the president has continued to tweet about the need to dominate on the streets. and has continued his attacks on the press. now let's be clear, there's no suggestion the president has told the police to attack journalists. but if you routinely demonise an entire group of people from a position of power, based on what history teaches us, you can reasonably expect that prejudice and hostility from others could follow.

well, whatever the reasons, the press is being impacted by police violence — and in many cases the journalists are identified as press — and are co—operating. and it's notjournalists. when a woman was filming the national guard and military police coming down her street in minneapolis — this happened. get inside! getting your house now, let's go! let them up! go inside now! gunshot the reasons why all of these incidents are happening is hard to pin down — each circumstance varies, and it's too early to have everyone's accounts. however, perhaps we were offered a clue in this vice video. (tx sot however, perhaps we were offered a clue in this vice video. iam i am pressed! i am press! i don't care, get down.

‘i‘m press' says reporter michael anthony adams. ‘i don't care' comes the reply. and this video — and many others are causing concern. and then the pepper spray comes out. the head of the un tweeted at the weekend — "when journalists are attacked, societies are attacked. no democracy can function without press freedom". in the last week — various us police forces have shown repeated indifference to the role of the press. in several cases we've seen something far more sinister. and each incident places a further question mark by ronald reagan's idea that american democracy is a beacon to the world. there's more details on this aspect of the story and of course many others through the bbc news website. the man who'll represent afghanistan's government in crucial peace talks with the taliban has been speaking exclusively to the bbc. abdullah abdullah is going ahead with the talks despite the united nations saying the terror group al-qaeda

is still operating in afghanistan — with the support of the taliban. mr abdullah told us he was concerned about the un report. of course, the presence of al-qaeda in afghanistan has been the cause of much misery for our people and also around the world. taliban movement severing ties or cutting ties with al-qaeda was part of the us television agreement. it's not fully implement it in this respect, according to our colleagues, there has been progress, but much more needs to be done. earlier, the taliban released this statement saying... "the taliban fully rejects the contents of this report. we are fully committed to observing and implementing the terms of the agreement signed with the united states of america." as someone who fought against the taliban in the nineties, mr abdullah explained how he reconciles negotiating

with people who killed some of his family and friends. i have been in the resistance against the soviets, and later on in the resistance against the taliban. the taliban and al-anda. and so many lives have been lost. and only ina many lives have been lost. and only in a matter of a few weeks and we refer to the statistics, three weeks back, around 3000 people were killed. have lost their lives in afghanistan. and it's because of the suffering of all of us together. the people of afghanistan have paid a big price. that's why we believe we should come and put an end to this. for more on the situation in yemen, the bbc spoke

we have scenes unfolding in new york of more protests heading into an eighth day following the death of george floyd. this is the scene there live. peaceful protests at the moment with many people gathering there on the outskirts of the centre of the study on the main interchange there. participant carried out in some 75 us cities. we are expecting in the next 30 minutes or so a main rally to be held in houston which is the former home where george floyd grew up. in march has been organised by the police department there alongside the floyd family and friends who are intending to walk some 15 minutes from discovery park to city hall where they were addressed the waiting media they are. this is the scene in new york,

as you can see protests are continuing yet again. bring you the latest, stay with us here on bbc news. hello. for now we can forget about the warm and sunny weather commit to where it is going to come back eventually. over the next few days we're just eventually. over the next few days we'rejust going to eventually. over the next few days we're just going to have to get used to the cooler, cloudier, windier and at times wetter weather. but it's not going to be a wash—out. some sunshine around as well but it's going to feel a lot cooler compared to what we have been used to for quite some time now. this changes already taken place across the north of the country in scotland, the class of enrolling in. out of the north and the rain has fallen and following that is this cooler current of air straight out of the art to come us that means that temperatures will drop throughout the uk over the next day or so. this is what it looks like through the night. because they were the rain is

particularly eastern parts of scotland, the north of england and by the early hours of wednesday morning i suspect there will rain reaching the south of the country. certainly whales and central england. quite a mild night interpreters around 13 degrees in the heart of england. so wednesday across england and wales is going to be generally overcast, there will be rain that we will be moving from north south words. as it does so the rain tends to become very patchy, so that means that some areas will literally have a few drips and drops of rain with the cloudy skies. in other areas perhaps across the northeast of england by that time will have seen maybe 20 mm of rain. a good dose of rain in one or two places, but for most of us it's overcast with a few spots. and across scotland and northern ireland there will be some sunshine around. that was wednesday and this is thursday, you can see the wind blowing straight out of the and a strong wind, a freshman in places and with temperatures of say only

around ten, 12, 13 degrees. it's going to feel on the nippy side and evenin going to feel on the nippy side and even in the south where obviously we've got our warm spots temperatures only reaching around 1a degrees in london. thursday will bring some outbreaks of rain as well but not an awful lot. friday low pressure is close by. more breed some more of the same, so that definitely summer is on hold. the outlook here on this temperatures remain below average as we head into the weekend. that's it for me, thanks for watching.

this is bbc world news, the headlines the authorities in washington have used tear gas on protesters outside the white house — as president trump warned he'll deploy the army to end the violence triggered by the death of the unarmed african—american, george floyd. in philadelphia, the us democratic presidential candidatejoe biden said black communities — already hard hit by the economic and health fall—out of the coronavirus pandemic — were being victimised, and their cries of anger were being ignored. president trump is facing a backlash over visits to two religious landmarks in washington. the president and the first lady — melania trump — visited the saintjohn paul ii national shrine in washington as well as st john's episcopal church. and dr abdullah abdullah — who is leading the afghan government's peace talks with the taliban has told the bbc that the organisation is yet to cut all ties to al qaeda. dr abdullah says the majority of afghans want peace. you're watching bbc news...