welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: president trump brokers a peace deal between israel and the united arab emirates, israel's prime minister calls it an historic breakthrough. i believe there is a good chance we will soon see more arab countries joining this expanding circle of peace. israel has agreed to delay plans to annex more palestinian land, but the palestinian president calls the deal a betrayal of his people's cause. in belarus, as protests continue against president lukashenko, the government announces the release of all detained protesters. his arrest in his own words,

hong kong newspaper owner jimmy lai describes being detained under the territory's new security law. are you scared? no, i'm not. why should i be scared? israel and the united arab emirates have signed a peace treaty that will open the way to the two countries signing deals in areas such as trade, tourism, investment and security. as part of the us—mediated deal announced by president trump, israel will put on hold its plans to annex more palestinian land. but the surprise move has angered palestinian leaders, as our correspondent yoland knell reports from jerusalem.

the face of a man who's made an historic deal. israel's leader talking to the crown prince of abu dhabi and president trump. already, there were signs of warming ties with arab gulf states who share fears over iran. and israeli minister in the uae. the delegation singing in the jewish sabbath. now such scenes could become normal. we announced the establishment of a full and formal peace between israel and the uae. it includes the mutual opening of embassies, direct flights and many other bilateral agreements. this is the greatest advancements towards peace between israel and the arab rule in the last 26 years. but the palestinians feel betrayed. past peace plans promise diplomatic relations with powerful arab states,

only when their conflict with israel had been solved. recently, they have been fighting israeli plans to annex in parts of the west bank which they want for a future state. tonight, the uae justified what it called its bold step, saying israel agreed not to take action. meanwhile, the white house congratulated itself. by uniting two of america's closest and most capable partners in the region, something which was said could not be done, this deal is a significant step to building a more peaceful, secure and prosperous middle east. for mr trump, with presidential elections looming and his friend, benjamin netanyahu, this is a majorforeign policy achievement. in a measure of its great popularity with israelis, tonight, the tel aviv municipality was lit up with the emirati flag. but some think the deal may

have limited significance. here's sara yael hirschhorn, she's visiting assistant professor in israel studies at northwestern university. i think each party is going to sell it as a victory for themselves but these are two nationstates that really were not at war with each other, so the idea that they have now pronounced a peace seems rather artificial and a distraction from some larger agendas in the region. that's interesting. we heard that, in israel certainly, this is the most significant step in 26 years, do you think that is simply overblown? i think that there were already quiet diplomatic relations that had moved increasingly into the open in the last several years so it is not terribly surprising that this has now come about, but i think we have to now looked at the larger picture of what has been given in return. the trump brokering of the deal and what the larger ramifications will be for the palestinians in the west of the region

in the wake of this agreement. ok, let's just unpick one of those first and that is the role of donald trump and that administration. how much credit do you think they deserve? look, i think they've had an agenda going back to their conference in bahrain to bring arab states and israel closer together and also for the trump administration to be able to pronounce the deal of the century between israel and the arab world, so they certainly had a great stake in the issue but i would like to see more of what the actual, tangible consequences of this will be. first of all, anything that has been announced right now is all preliminary, there has been nothing officially signed, only an announcement, and what ramifications will be for the other states signing peace treaties with israel, primarily more important arab partners like saudi arabia as well as what this will mean

for the arab peace initiative and israeli—palestinian peace remains to be seen. and what does this do for donald trump domestically? i think does much less than he will hope. i think there is going to be very little that will distract american voters from 150,000 dead and very significant unemployment in this country, and even his evangelical brace i think will be sceptical of this deal because it doesn't really conform to their ideological or theological commitments. israel sending an ambassador to the uae is not necessarily going to bring around the second coming in their theology so i wonder how much it will matter to them when they go to the polls in november. there is plenty more on the background to that deal on our website, of course. in belarus the interior minister has said everyone who was detained in this week's protests will be released by 6am local time this morning. it comes as workers

from state—run factories joined thousands of people on the streets for a fifth day of protests over disputed election results. some of those detained by police were released on thursday, and tearful relatives gathered outside a jail north of the capital, minsk, hoping to be reunited with their loved ones. from there, our correspondent sent this report. chanting. factory workers down tools across belarus today. the protest mood in the country is changing following a violent crackdown on protesters. people are finding new ways to make their voices heard. although the number of protesters on the streets of minsk is going down, but the movement against president lukashenko will not go away back quickly. today, the workers at this plant are going on strike against the violence that courts are using to stop protesters. translation: we demand honest elections, the change of regime,

we demand freedom, democracy and peace in our homes. that is why we have come out. these are some of the people who were detained on sunday. the day when protest in belarus started. now, they are free. after long days and nights of anxious searching and waiting, some families are finally reunited. but many are still looking for their relatives. people in the crowd show the men photos of family members on their phones in desperate hope that someone will have shared a cell with their loved ones. this woman is looking for her son, who was detained on monday. "we have been searching for him for three days. he has three small children at home," she says.

for former detainees, the memories of their experience in detention centres will likely haunt them for many years. people told us about brutal beatings and torture the detainees face inside. translation: they beat people ferociously, with impunity and they arrest anyone. the cells are overcrowded and we were forced to stand in the yard all night. we could hear women being beaten. i don't understand such cruelty. when men get arrested, it is the women who now go out onto the streets. the brutal crackdown he has changed the protest movement, but did not stop it. the question now is, how far will the regime go to maintain its grip on power? let's get some of the day's other news. the uk is to impose a fourteen day quarantine on all arrivals from france and the netherlands, after a rise in coronavirus cases in the countries.

the measure comes into effect on saturday and also applies to malta, monaco, aruba and the turks and caicos islands. two regions in spain have banned smoking outdoors, to try to stop the spread of coronavirus. people in galicia and in the canary islands will be forbidden to remove masks, which are mandatory in public places, to smoke, if they cannot be sure of remaining two metres apart. apple has removed the video game fortnite from its app store, after accusing its developers of breaking its guidelines on in—app payments. epic games, which owns fortnite, has accused apple of holding an unfair monopoly on processing payments, and says it will take legal action after being banned. at least three people have been killed in clashes in ivory coast as hundreds have taken to the streets following president wattarra's decision to run for a third term in office.

police fired tear gas at demonstrators, who defied a ban on protests. in lebanon, lawmakers have approved a two—week state of emergency in beirut after last week's deadly explosion in the capital. about a quarter—of—a—million people remain homeless, and many are still not accounted for. protests calling for change within the lebanese leadership have continued. the government has resigned but remains in a caretaker capacity, and there are growing calls for the international community to intervene. the bbc‘s paul adams has more. in the devastated port, navy divers still searching for victims. under the now iconic shadow of beirut‘s shattered grain silos. more than a week on, dozens of people remain missing, some may never be found. beirut‘s clean—up, slow, labourious and painful goes on.

it is a daunting task. this bankrupt country seems overwhelmed, unsure where to start. hopes are not high that parliament can fix anything, meeting for the first time since the explosion, it rubber stamped last week's declaration of a state of emergency. 0utside, tight security as it has been since the end of last year, lebanon's ruling class held in such low regard, it can only meet behind barricades. a major demonstration is planned for saturday, the people of beirut determined that those responsible for wrecking their city are brought to account. the government said there will be answers by now, but it is not clear what, if any, progress has been made. america says it is willing to help uncover the truth, a top diplomat saying american investigators will soon be involved. the fbi will soonjoin lebanese and international

investigators at the invitation of the lebanese in order to help answer questions that i know everyone has about the circumstances that led up to this explosion and to work with lebanese in this regard. but as he met volunteers, he sounded a warning that proper recovery needs real change. and if that same spirit of unity in getting things done could not only be tapped to rebuild beirut, but to get necessary reform to bring about the transformation necessary and for lebanon to make things like this never happen again. the economic and fiscal reforms that are needed, the end to dysfunctional governance and empty promises. the medical challenge remains immense, with several of beirut‘s hospital still out of action, many of the 6000 people injured are still being treated in makeshift clinics like this jordanian

field hospital. to make matters worse, the world health organisation says it is worried that coronavirus cases could rise in the wake of last week's explosion. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: wanted dead or alive, the giant hornet being hunted in the us state of washington. 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 since being overthrown in 1979.

two billion people around the world have seen the last total eclipse of the sun to take place in this millennium. it began its journey off the coast of canada, ending three hours later when the sun set over the bay of bengal. this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the latest headlines: the united states brokers a peace deal between israel and the united arab emirates. the palestinian president says it is a betrayal of the palestinian cause. in belarus, as protests continue against president lukashenko, the government announces the release of all detained protesters.

on monday, hong kong media tycoon,jimmy lai, was arrested in a scene that shocked many. his newspaper offices were raided by hundreds of police. mr lai, the founder of the apple daily, is the most high—profile person to be detained under a controversial new security law. hejoined me from hong kong, a short time ago, in one of his first media interviews since being released on bail. i don't know what is going to happen to me next because they have not given me a date of the judgement. i was given a bail of $300,000 cash and $200,000 personal guarantee and my passport was confiscated so i cannot travel, and i am waiting for the next thing to happen. are you scared? no, i am not. why not? why should i be scared? i have been doing this for 30 years

and now is a time of test, it is a time that needs my courage, and it is a time that i have to go forward. i am not scared and i will go on, you know, and that's my mission. just tell us what happened on monday, when the police arrived at the newspaper offices. i was just down from upstairs by my maid. i didn't know what happened so i went down, and i saw a bunch of policemen, about 20 of them and they said, "mr lai, you are under arrest under the national security law," so i was a bit shocked because national security law

is a very draconian law, that i may be sent to china right away so i said, "look, i have just finished exercising, may i have a bath?" so they followed me to my room, to my bathroom, and didn't allow me to close the door, of course. they're watching me. i washed and i went with them, they handcuffed me. i was very pleased to see that the whole team were hong kong policemen, that means that i was not going to be sent to china. if they had some chinese mandarin—speaking policemen, it was almost sure that i would be sent to china. then i was sent to the police station, and i was detained for a0 hours. during the a0 hours, they treated me very nicely

and politely, while as a criminal, of course... what are they accusing you of doing? the first thing is, deception, which means that we have companies that register their address on my company, you know, only the correspondence was sent there, so this is while they're leasing contract — so that's the first. the second is resignment, so this is under the basic law. the third charge is collusion, subversion, which is under the national security law. one last question, in the last couple of hours donald trump was asked about your arrest and president trump said it was a terrible thing.

do you think the international community is doing enough? i think that the international community has done a lot but what is enough? 0nly history can tell. now to latin america, where two countries have officially reached more than 500,000 coronavirus cases. peru now has close to 508,000 confirmed cases and over 25,000 related deaths, according to the country's health ministry. the number of confirmed cases is similar in mexico, with a total of 505,000 infections. however, the government has said the real number of infected people is likely to be significantly higher. over 50,000 people have died with coronavirus in mexico. this weekend marks 75 years since japan's surrender in the second world war. once the fighting ended, the us occupied japan, imposing a constitutional

democracy on the former empire something that shaped international relations in the region for decades to come. 0ne veteran, john hutchin, who's 96, was part of the chindit special forces, which fought behind enemy lines in burma, facing disease and monsoon rains. he's been speaking to our correspondent, robert hall. twice a day for five weeks, they attacked, morning... ..and evening. 0ur losses were very heavy. archive: here they are in close up for the first time in newsreels, the chindits. they took their badge from the lion statues which guarded burmese temples, the ragged contingents from britain and the commonwealth, outnumbered by the japanese, unrecognisable through hunger and illness. john hutchin had volunteered for the chindits, fighting through the monsoons in 1944,

he came close to death. when i went in, i was 11 stone. i was now eight stone four, a skeleton. i had no energy, i had no fight, i had no spark. so the rule was, before we went in, if you're killed, you're dead because your purpose in there is to kill or be killed. if you were walking wounded, you carried on. if none of those things were possible and it impeded the advance of those 80 men, you were left. i was left... ..with four days‘ rations... ..and ammunition.

i lay, with water, and i couldn't move. and ifound i had a spark. i wasn't dead. i wasn't immobile, and i got up. and for four days and four nights, i marched alone... ..until i reached our men. the lions of the chindit army are remembered here on the banks of the thames. a modest monument to outstanding bravery and resilience. i love talking about it because it's a whole part of me, but i shall never, ever forget any of those men. and i'm delighted to have had the honour of being called a chindit.

remarkable bravery. hundreds of traps are being set in the us state of washington, aiming to catch a potentially deadly intruder. a giant insect, known as the ‘murder hornet‘, has been seen in the area. usually native to asia, the hornet is a potential danger to local insects and on occasion, humans. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. jenny is a woman on a mission. she works with the local department of agriculture and she is on the hunt for a giant insect that they call the murder hornet. we do have a reproducing population. the removal is critical because if it is successful it can produce more queens that could create more queens that could create more nests the following year. it is the asian giant hornet and it is known for its orange markings and its sheer size,

reaching around five centimetres in length. vesting can be fatal to humans. around 30-50 can be fatal to humans. around 30—50 people injapan are killed by them. but the real threat is to honey beans. the murder hornet will fight off the head of the bees and develop the content of their homes. if we have a chance of keeping it out of north america, we have to do everything we can. it is a group effort. people putting up traps and killing off the murder hornet. if they are not eliminated in the next couple of years, the fear is a good spread across much of northern america. tim allman, bbc news. just before we go i want to show you some police bodycam footage from the us, that's gone viralfor all the right reasons. an officer in california has been credited for her quick—thinking and bravery in sprinting towards train tracks and pulling a man to safety who had been stuck in his wheelchair in the path ofa train.

she managed to rescue the 66—year—old with seconds to spare with the two of them falling to the ground as the train passed remarkable stuff. you can get me on twitter. i'm lewis vaughan jones. hello there. top temperature on thursday was 30 celsius. nowhere got above 30. that's the first time in over a week we've seen that, so temperatures are falling now over the next few days and we'll have a north—south divide. southern parts of the country will feel most humid, with the risk of thunderstorms over the next few days, whereas further north, higher pressure will tend to bring a lot of dry weather with some sunshine. but there will be some mist and low cloud across more eastern areas. so, for friday, we've got lower pressure to the south, this weather front generating the showers and thunderstorms. higher pressure, though, across the north, which will bring the fine and settled weather, but we will start off with that low cloud and mist, across many central and eastern areas, which will tend to burn back to the coast through the day. best of the sunshine western scotland, northern ireland, northwest england, where it will feel pleasantly warm.

and further south, these thunderstorms could be quite vicious again, with the risk of localised flooding in places where they occur. not as warm as it has been. in fact, the extreme heat will have gone. we're looking at temperatures around the mid—20s celsius at best, but cooler down the east coast, with onshore breeze and where it stays quite cloudy. as we head through friday night, it looks like those thunderstorms will continue to rattle on across southern areas. again, the risk of some localised flooding in places, drierfurther north. it's going to be another warm and muggy night for many, particularly england and wales. now, into saturday, then, it's a similar story — higher pressure to the north, lower pressure to the south, so this is where we'll see the showers and the thunderstorms continue. again, some of them heavy with the risk of some localised flash flooding. further north, we'll start off with a bit of grey mistiness across eastern areas. the best of the sunshine for western scotland, northern ireland and northwest england. it could stay quite grey along some north sea coasts. top temperature 25 degrees in the southeast, the low 20s further north. subtle changes, though,

as we head on into sunday. it looks like that thundery low will drift a little bit further north as this high—pressure retreats away, so it looks like we could start to see some thundery showers edging northwards into north wales, the north midlands, perhaps into northern england, as we move through the course of sunday. but again, some of these will be on the heavy side. top temperatures, 2a, 25 degrees. again, cooler in the north and east with that onshore breeze. as we head on into next week, it looks like things will stay on the cooler side, with temperatures close to the seasonal average, with a mixture of sunshine and showers.

this is bbc news,

the headlines: the united states has brokered a peace deal between israel and the united arab emirates. world leaders have given it a cautious welcome but the palestinian president says it is a betrayal of his people's cause. tens of thousands in belarus staged more protests against alexander lu kashenko's disputed re—election. the government has announced it will release all protesters detained in five days of clashes with police. britain is to impose a 14 day quarantine on all arrivals from france and the netherlands, after a surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks. the measure will come into effect on saturday. up to half a million uk tourists are thought to be