welcome to bbc news, i'm mike embley. our top stories: making history. the democratic presidential candidate, joe biden, chooses black senator, kamala harris, as his running mate for november's us election. they take on donald trump in three months time, his campaign team has already weighed in, saying americans will resoundingly reject the pair at the ballot box. the people of beirut observe a minute's silence, marking the moment an explosion ripped through the city, one week earlier. the main opposition leader in belarus flees the country after disputing the presidential election result. nationwide protests are continuing for a third night. the hong kong pro—democracy activist, jimmy lai, is released on bail, 2a hours after his arrest under

the national security law. after months of speculation and 84 days before election day, the democratic presidential nominee joe biden has selected the california senator, kamala harris, as his running mate against donald trump for november's election. from jamaican and indian parents, she is the first black woman in the role. on twitter mr biden said, "i have the great honor to announce that i've picked kamala harris, a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country's finest public servants, as my running mate." kamala harris said she is honored tojoin joe biden as nominee for vice president, and, as she put it, do what it takes to make him commander—in—chief. our north america correspondent

david willis sastoe biden‘s choice of running mate is a very big deal. joe biden had said that he wanted an administration that would resemble the country at large, and to that end he has picked as his vice presidential running mate a woman, black woman, who is more than 20 years hisjunior. it has been an exhaustive search and taken about three or four months forjoe biden to narrow it down and i am told that about 90 minutes before the announcement was released by text message today, joe biden actually got on the phone to kamala harris and formally offered her thejob as his running mate. she accepted and he spent the remainder of that 90 minutes calling the unsuccessful candidates. but she is seen, in a way as representing a new wing of, or a new faction perhaps, of the democratic party, one that lies between joe biden, who is very much a centrist and the progressive wing of bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. she is not left—wing

but she is left of centre and as such it will be perhaps difficult for donald trump and his team to attack her as they have attempted to do already, i might add, by branding her a prisoner of the radical left, someone who wants to erase taxes and advance the socialised medicine theories. and important too, david, notjust because of who she is but also becausejoe biden, to be frank, will be the oldest president, if he is elected, 77, i think, and she might well be president. he has made it clear he only wants to serve one term, even if you get there. that's right, and so this is a very big dealfor kamala harris, someone who clearly hasn't lacked ambition in that regard. she ran for president againstjoe biden leading to that rather testy exchange

about bussing that caused joe biden somewhat to take a step back. he didn't really see that coming, he was taken a bit off guard during that first democratic debate by kamala harris but you are absolutely right, joe biden would be 78 on inauguration day next year, and of course that will put him up there when it comes around to a second term. kamala harris very much will be seen as his anointed heir, i would imagine, so this is a very big dealfor that reason alone. joe biden had said he wanted to try to find someone who could represent the sort of chemistry that he had with ba rack obama. the two men didn't always see eye to eye, particularly on matters of foreign policy but they struck up what proved to be a very harmonious and very good working relationship. they trusted each other implicitly and joe biden was looking for those sort of qualities in his own running mate.

joining me now live from new york is suzanejohnson cook, she's been an adviser on race to president clinton and ambassador at large for international religious freedom in the obama administration. welcome, very good to talk to you. what do you make of this? well, excited, ecstatic, exhilarated, it is a wonderful time in america for kamala harris and vice presidentjoe biden who will soon be president biden and vice president, lia harris. she was of course very tough onjoe biden in the democratic party's debate for the nomination, is there no bad feeling there at all? no bad feeling at all. as she said and as he said, first of all, he said no grudges and as she said it's politics. when you are in a debate, that is the nature of the debate. made the nature of the debate. made the best man, made the best woman when. it's over, we have a winning ticket and we are going forward with the winning ticket and we are going to have

a vice president and president who are going to turn this back around. as he said, we are fighting for the soul of america and this is a sole team and we are ready for them. there is a fair way to go yet and it appears to be a very bloodied campaign. president trump has already attacked her asa trump has already attacked her as a prisoner of the left? who hasn't he attacked? he has attacked from the time he ran for president, while he's in the presidency, who hasn't he attacked? i think he is defenceless and he knows that his time isjust defenceless and he knows that his time is just about up and so his time is just about up and so he will say whatever he needs to say. she has a track record, she has one statewide office twice, she is a united states senator, she has proven and mistreated that she can win and mistreated that she can win and so we have a winning team so and so we have a winning team so he can say what he wants, all he knows is that as he leaves the white house, there will be another team coming and. how solid you think the party will be behind her? she has a history is a very tough prosecutor. she stayed silent when she was asked to embrace

criminal justice reform when she was asked to embrace criminaljustice reform while she was attorney general in california, activists to the left is to use that phrase to taunt her, kamala harris is a cop. everybody has a past and a history and you have to do what you have to do in the position you have to do in the position you are in. i was in law enforcement in new york for 21 yea rs enforcement in new york for 21 years and you have to do what you have to do in that particular office. she has demonstrated beyond demonstration that she has grown and that she is a player for the united states of america. she has been on the campaign trail forjoe biden and raising money for the party and raising money for the party and so we are going to be a united party. people will try to divide us but this is the point where we will converge and come together. black women, black men have woken all over america, we are ecstatic but america, we are ecstatic but america needs a winning team and that is what we have quite how do you think a biden— harris ticket might play with people who might have supported president trump but may be wondering now. because ofjoe

biden‘s age, they have to see kamala harris as a president, don't they? yes, and they should be running worried, i get text every day saying, i once was with him, but he is an embarrassment and not a leader for america, so i'd don't worry about what the trump supporters 01’ about what the trump supporters or previous supporters have said or done. i know that this isa said or done. i know that this is a new day and his not demonstrated leadership, not just with the george floyd case and things that have happened since then but in his four yea rs since then but in his four years in office so we are ready for a change and the change was demonstrated today begins a new era in american history. that isa era in american history. that is a very clear point of view, as you know other points of view are available. thank you so much for talking to us. thank you for having me, it has been my honour. ceremonies have been held in the lebanese capital tonight, as beirut marks the moment a week ago when the city was hit by a devastating blast. from there, tom bateman reports.

here, there is faith in god... but none in their country's leaders. the living paid tribute. they believe the dead paid for lebanon's problems with their lives. i want to pay a tribute to all the victims. i would not call them martyrs, never, they are not martyrs. a martyr chooses to die. we did not choose to die. a week ago, the moment when nothing would be the same. explosion. a city shattered, a country brought closer to collapse. there's no help at the hospital, says yara, it's wrecked too. shocked and bloodied, she filmed the scenes of destruction.

scenes she'll never forget. her husband comforts her. their home was destroyed, their neighbours below, killed. but she vows to rebuild — her home and their country. we will raise our kids here and no—one is going anywhere, and we're going to be stronger than ever. and nothing like this will ever happen again. nothing! nothing should ever happen again because no one should live what we lived and what we witnessed. these sisters have stuck together for a lifetime in beirut. they've seen disasters and war, but now they're leaving. lebanon was already on its knees. now, some warn it may

never recover from this. beirut is a broken city. people want change but they know with the system in place here, they've got to do it for themselves. and they continue to remember their dead. for yara, a sign of theirfaith in each other in a crumbling country, where the future seems more uncertain than ever. tom bateman, bbc news, beirut. let's get some other news. prosecutors in mexico have accused the former president, enrique pena nieto, of taking millions of dollars in bribes and using the money to buy votes in congress. the allegations are part of a major corruption investigation involving the brazilian construction giant, odebrecht. coronavirus cases in france have nearly doubled in the past 2a hours as prime ministerjean castex warned that the country had been going the wrong way for two weeks. the health ministry reported

1,397 new infections of covid—19 since monday and 1a people have died. australia has recorded its deadliest day from the coronavirus pandemic, with 21 deaths in the past 2a hours, all recorded in the state of victoria. australia's second most populous state is just over one week into a strict six week lockdown to control a resurgence of cases. the state health authorities also reported a further a10 new infections. new zealand is back in lockdown after four mystery covid—19 infections were detected in auckland. they're the country's first confirmed cases of community transmission in more than 100 days. here's the prime ministerjacinda ardern. i know how hugely frustrating this current situation is for every single member

of our team of 5 million, but if we get our immediate response right in this critical phase we have the opportunity to lessen the time that we will have those heavier restrictions, and that is a lesson that we have all learned together, so please as always stay kind, look after one another and please stay tuned as we update you on the situation as it continues to unfold. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the hong kong pro—democracy activist, jimmy lai, is released on bail, 2a hours after his arrest under the national security law. the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a huge job of crowd control.

idi amin, uganda's brutal former dictator, has died at the age of 80. he's been buried in saudi arabia, where he lived in exile 2 billion people around the world have seen the last it began itsjourney off the coast of canada, ending three hours later when the sun set over the bay of bengal. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: making history — the democratic presidential candidate, joe biden, chooses black senator, kamala harris, this as his running mate for november's us election.

ceremonies have been held in the lebanese capital, beirut, to mark the moment a week ago when the city was hit by a devastating explosion. some western scientists have expressed concern that a covid—19 vaccine developed in russia has been approved for use there, despite clinical trials not being complete. the vaccine for covid—19 was approved by the russian health ministry after less than two months of testing on humans. the world health organisation said the drug wouldn't be made available globally until more tests had been carried out. the opposition candidate in the presidential election in belarus has fled the country. she has disputed the result, in an election she claims was rigged. svetlana tikhanovskaya has said she went to lithuania for her children. her supporters back in the capital, minsk, have continued angry protests against the result. the former soviet republic is often referred to as europe's last dictatorship.

our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford reports. she's been the face of change in belarus, but today, svetla na tikhanovskaya released a tearful video announcing she had fled the country. translation: i know many will understand me, many will condemn, and many will hate me. but god forbid you have to face the choice i had. this was the last time the opposition candidate had been seen, heading to hand in an official complaint that the elections were rigged. we now know she was detained here for seven hours, and she made another recording, clearly under pressure. it was a call to supporters to recognise alexander lu kashenko as the people's choice for president, and to clear the streets to avoid bloodshed. no one bought that.

protesters have come out for a third straight night, shouting for mr lukashenko to go. this is how similar scenes ended last night. police using stun grenades, rubber bullets and brute force against the growing demand for change. and yet, alexander lukashenko spent today talking food processing with officials. he's vowed there will be no revolution and blamed outside forces for fomenting unrest. that's why, when these russians were detained, state television paraded them as provocateurs. we know two of them were just observing the elections. across the country, desperate families are now hunting for the thousands who've been detained, mothers clamouring at prison gates. this crisis has already claimed one protester‘s life and increased

the anger and upset. the woman these people voted for has fled, but what svetlana tikhanovskaya has started now has its own powerful momentum. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. two of hong kong's biggest opponents to china's new security law have been released on bail. the activist, agnes chow, and the entrepreneur, jimmy lai, were arrested under the new law which is being used to silence those within hong kong who criticise either china or hong kong's pro—beijing ruling class. joining me live is chris yeung, the chair of the hong kong journalists association. thank you very much for talking to us. i know things are pretty difficult at the moment. how important are difficult at the moment. how importantarejimmy difficult at the moment. how important arejimmy lai and his newspaper to hong kong?m important arejimmy lai and his newspaper to hong kong? it is a very popular newspaper and also very popular newspaper and also very controversial. jimmy lai has a role as a media boss but also as being active... being

an activist. properly he is the first media boss to be met with aus first media boss to be met with a us vice president. there is a lot of support notjust a us vice president. there is a lot of support not just for the newspaper but also for press freedom and i think a lot of people fear that the national—security law is now causing a more real threat to freedom of expression and freedom of expression and freedom of expression and freedom of the press and i think that explains why people went out to snap up copies of the newspaper yesterday our time and also by their shares, and there has been a rocketing of the prices of the shares. there is bound to be self—censorship out of fear. what does this mean for press freedom in hong kong generally?

from a pessimistic point, in the near term, we're talking about immediate years, because with the passage of the national security law, it is going to threat to journalists's woakes, the law cove rs a journalists's woakes, the law covers a lot of things including collusion with the foreign government which is the chargejimmy lai foreign government which is the charge jimmy lai probably foreign government which is the chargejimmy lai probably will be facing and will have to defend in court. for other things such as secession, journalist work, reports from articles, reports like the activities of groups outside hong kong, foreign government support will therefore be interpreted and those are the questions and it seems in the first case, relating tojimmy lai, the chinese and hong kong

government are going to enforce the law aggressively and that would be more intimidating to the media. thank you so much for talking to us. you are welcome. beijing's crackdown on hong kong's democracy movement has attracted strong criticism, both washington and beijing hitting key figures with sanctions and closing consulates in recent weeks. and it's not the only issue where the two countries don't see eye—to—eye. i spoke with former australian prime minister and china expert kevin rudd and got his take on the situation. if our prism for analysis is where does the us—china relationship go, the bottom line is we have not seen this relationship in such fundamental disrepair in about half a century. ans as a result, whether it is hong kong, or whether it's taiwan, or events unfolding in the south china sea, this is pushing the relationship into greater and greater levels of crisis. what concern those of us who study this professionally and who know both systems

of government reasonably well, both in beijing and washington, is that the probability of a crisis unfolding either in the taiwan straits or in the south china sea is now growing and the probability of escalation is now real into a serious shooting match and the lesson of history is, it is very difficult to de—escalate under those circumstances. yes, i think you have spoken in terms of the risk of a hot war, actual war between the us and china. i am serious and i have not said this before, i have been a student of us—china relations for the last 35 years and i take a genuinely sceptical approach to people who have sounded the alarms in previous periods of the relationship, but those of us who have observed is through the prism of history i think have got a responsibility to say to decision—makers, both in washington and beijing, right now, be careful what you wish for because this is catapulting in a particular direction.

when you look at the south china sea in particular, there you have a huge amount of metal on metal, that is, a large number of american ships and a large number of people's liberation army navy ships, a similar number of aircraft. the rules of engagement, the standard operating procedures of these vessels are unbeknownst to the rest of us. we have had near misses before. what i am pointing to is, if we actually have a collision, or are sinking or a crash, what then ensues in terms of crisis management on both sides? when we last had this in 2001, 2002 in the bush administration, the state of the china—us relationship was pretty good. right now, 20 years later, it is fundamentally appalling. that is why many of us are deeply concerned and are sounding this concern both to beijing and washington. and yet, you know of course, china is such a power economically and it is making its presence felt in so many places in the world, there is a sense that really china can pretty much do

what it wants. how do you avoid the kind of situation you are describing? the government in beijing needs to understand the importance of restraint as well, in terms of its own calculus of its own long—term national interests and that is china's current course of action across a range of fronts is in fact causing a massive international reaction against china now. unprecedented against, again, the measures of the last a0 or 50 years. you now have fundamental dislocations in the relationship not just with washington, but with canada, with australia, with united kingdom, with japan, the republic of korea and with a whole bunch of others as well, including those in various parts of continental europe, and so therefore, looking at this through the prism of beijing's own interests, there are those in beijing who will be raising the argument, are we pushing too far, too hard, too fast? the responsibility to the rest of us is to say to that cautionary advice within beijing, all power to your arm in restraining china

from this course of action, the authorities in mauritius say cracks in the hull of a cargo ship which ran aground last month sparking an environmental emergency are worsening. the mv wakashio, believed to have been carrying 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil, ran aground on a coral reef off the indian ocean island on 25july. the leak has now been stopped and efforts to remove the about nine hundred tonnes of oil on—board the stricken vessel are continuing. mauritius is home to world—renowned coral reefs, and tourism is a crucial part of its economy. wrestler—turned—movie star dwayne ‘the rock‘ johnson has topped the list of the world's highest—paid male actors for a second straight year, according to forbes magazine. over the past year he earned $87.5 million, including more than $20 million from the netflix movie, red notice. ryan reynolds, who co—stars withjohnson in red notice, came in second in the rankings. the magazine releases a separate list of highest—paid actresses.

you can guess how much those numbers compare! thank you for watching. hello. there is quite a mix of weather on offer across the british isles just at the moment. the headlines are being made by the heat but, at times, some low cloud is running in to some of the coastal areas, making it a great deal cooler and then, when all that heat really powers on through, we get that possibility of some thunderstorms and that is the mix that will take many of us through wednesday. there is heat to be had widely across western europe at the moment. the moisture being fed around this low out of biscay, up towards the british isles, where we start wednesday on another really humid note. widely across the british isles temperatures in the teens if not the low 20s. the bulk of the morning thunderstorms to be found across the north—eastern quarter of scotland. these gradually drifting

towards shetland by evening, and then leaving behind just the chance of one or two thunderstorms dotted around, but generally they will begin to gang up across parts of wales, the midlands, and central, southern england as we get on through the afternoon, where again the temperatures widely will exceed 30 celsius. although, underneath the cloud and murk, around about some of the coast, you could be closer to 17—19, something of that order. through the evening and overnight, those showers just getting a little bit further north and a little bit further out towards the west, and the murk becoming ever more extensive across parts of northern and eastern scotland, and into the eastern side of the pennines, and again where it's going to be a very close—night again. widely temperatures into the teens to the low 20s. thursday gets off to a pretty grey start. the cloud more extensive than we have seen it of late but a really close—feeling day, and it is that mixture of heat and humidity again that will spark those thunderstorms widely across the southern half of britain. always that fraction fresher

and perhaps drier too further towards the north. though if the sunshine pops out here, again, you will be off into the 20s. as you move towards friday, i think we're going to see again the low pressure very much the dominant feature. and always that risk of those torrential downpours affecting central and southern parts of the british isles. further north, again, the onshore breeze is dragging some low—level cloud into the eastern side of scotland. most of the best of the sunshine for northern ireland and across western scotland. although those temperatures look as though they are dropping awayjust a touch, i think you will still feel pretty close and it is going to take quite a while before we get something a good dealfresher moving in from the atlantic to affect all parts of the british isles.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the democratic presidential candidate, joe biden, has choosen senator kamala harris as his running mate for november's us election. the former prosecutor and california attorney—general is the first black woman on a major presidential ticket in american history. they will take on donald trump and mike pence in three months time. ceremonies have been held in the lebanese capital, beirut to mark the moment a week ago when the city was hit by a devastating blast. there was also a minutes‘s silence in the port area. many groups held pictures of those who died in the disaster. the main opposition leader in belarus has fled the country after disputing the re—election of president alexander lu kashenko in last sunday's poll. nationwide protests have continued against a result widely regarded to have been tainted. the police have blocked off city centres and thousands of opposition supporters have been detained.