welcome to bbc news — i'm mike embley. our top stories: history at the white house as israel signs a peace deal ith two arab countries. these agreements prove that the nations of the region are breaking free from the failed approaches of the past. today's signing sets history on new course. india's coronavirus infections reach five million. we have a special report. the family of breonna taylor, killed by us police, agree a multi—million dollar settlement. and, humanity at a crossroads — the un's urgent warning on bio—diversity.

we start in washington and a ceremony at the white house to mark the signing of a peace deal between israel, the united arab emirates and bahrain. president trump describe it as the ‘dawn of a new middle east'. the gulf states are just the third and fourth arab countries to recognise israel. the palestinians have urged other arab states not to follow suit, while their conflict remains unresolved. our north america editor jon sopel has the story. since the founding of the state of israel in 1948, only two arab countries have made peace with israel. today at the white house, that number doubled as the uae and bahrain were brought together by donald trump to sign an agreement to normalise relations with the country. the signatures on the page took only a few seconds but it had taken decades to get here. applause. and for donald trump, with one eye on the forthcoming presidential

election and another on his place in history, this was a sweet moment, a significant foreign policy victory. we're here this afternoon to change the course of history. after decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new middle east, thanks to the great courage of the leaders of these three countries, we take a major stride towards a future in which people of all faiths and backgrounds live together in peace and prosperity. for benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister, whose political fortunes have gone through similar gyrations as donald trump's, this was a welcome relief from the domestic pressures of scandal and covid. to all of israel's friends in the middle east, those who are with us today and those who willjoin us tomorrow, i say — as—salamu alaykum — peace unto thee. shalom.

there's no cheering for the deal in the gaza strip and west bank, where many palestinians feel betrayed by these two gulf nations signing a deal with israel before any agreement is reached on the future of the palestinian people. and israel says rockets were fired onto their soil by militants in gaza. but no apology for making peace from the uae or the bahrainis today. the declaration supporting peace between the kingdom of bahrain and the state of israel is an historic step on the road to genuine and lasting peace, security and prosperity across the region, and for all who live there. there are still many questions about how these new relationships will develop. but the reality is that these gulf nations have already been dealing with israel through back channels for some time. this formalises a new relationship, though today's signing is no

less important for that. the most important words that donald trump spoke today were that more will follow. in other words, this isn't a one—off, more middle eastern countries could join, most notably, saudi arabia. people scoffed when donald trump talked about bringing peace to the middle east. it's not the deal of the century that he talked about at the start of his term, but it does look like a recasting of the middle east that few could have imagined. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. khaled elgindy is a senior fellow at the middle east institute in washington and former advisor to the palestinian authority. whatever you think of this, it is, at the very least, a significant that israel should get recognition from two witty important arab states? if it is -- it is important arab states? if it is —— it isa important arab states? if it is —— it is a historic moment especially for israel. it is an

important diplomatic and political queue, as you said, getting recognition from any arab states. —— coup. much less two important arab states. —— coup. much less two im porta nt states arab states. —— coup. much less two important states who are strategic players in the region. it is a coup for israel, obviously there are benefits for both the uae and bahrain bilaterally with israel. but it doesn't really bring us closer to resolving the palestinian israeli conflict, much less bringing peace to the middle east. these are two countries that never fired a shot with israel. there is no conflict, military or otherwise, between these two countries and israel. it is a diplomatic coup but not a step toward peace. and really, the unifying factor here, including for the united states and for

israel, shirley is a shared hostility towards iran? —— surely. iran is certainly part of the calculus here. the arab wealth —— gulf states, are very much opposed to iran and their proxies in the region and are trying to curtail that influence in the region, but there are other interests, mainly having to do with weapons and trade and economic arrangements that can affect both countries. it is important to note that this is not an agreement that is designed to bring peace in the region. it is certainly being spun that way, but it really is a way of formalising the under the table relations that both of these countries have within —— with

israel. and that is what donald trump has been adept at, to formalise this status quo with a great deal of pomp and circumstance. there does seem to be general dismay from palestinians. there is this promise from israel, though not explicitly stated, they will annex more palestinian land. it does seem to have brought the various palestinian factions together to talk for the first time ina together to talk for the first time in a long time. that is one byproduct of this new arrangement, it really does isolate the palestinians and forces them really do kind of put their own internal house in order. internal reconciliation between the two leading factions is only the first step. but it is pretty clear the palestinian leadership does not have a strategy for dealing with these kinds of

normalisation, for dealing with the continued marginalisation of their cause in the arab world and the international scene in general, but this is something i think well force them —— will force them to focus on putting those things in place otherwise the palestinian issue risks sinking further into irrelevance. khaled elgindy, thank you. india has now crossed the unfortunate milestone of having recorded five million cases of coronavirus. it's the second worst hit country in the world, behind the united states. the conditions caused by the pandemic, have had severe knock on effects on those affected by other diseases, and some of the country's poorest citizens, the bbc‘s india correspondent yogita limaye reports. they weren't infected by covid but they've suffered because of it. last month, ramesh kumar‘s two—year—old son died of nerve damage in his brain.

the family was turned away three times by a public hospital. doctors told them they were overburdened because of the covid crisis. "if it wasn't for coronavirus, my son could have been saved. government doctors has told me to take him to a private hospital but i didn't have money for that", ramesh says. deaths like these are going unnoticed as covid—i9 numbers continue to stack up and bring india's already inadequate medical infrastructure to its knees. doctors at a public hospital in mumbai are now being allowed to isolate forjust one day between their duties in covid and other wards, which puts patients at risk. when a doctor is the source of infection, it is not good in terms of health systems. we are over—worked, we are over—stressed, we are working tirelessly,

we don't have leave. many are questioning why restrictions continue to be eased, including reopening metro rail systems across the country even as a health crisis is getting worse. imposing another lockdown to curb the spread of covid—i9 is an extremely difficult option because the closures we've seen over the past several months have already had a devastating impact on the lives of some of india's poorest citizens. praveen kumar‘s family has been stitching his shoes for generations in the northern city of agra. during the stringent lockdown earlier this year, they once went hungry for four straight days. his mother pushpa devi says they've struggled for every morsel of food, and that she's never seen such days in her life. even with restrictions easing, there's only been a trickle of work.

"i don't know how we will get by in the coming days. if the situation remains like this, we'll have no choice but to kill ourselves", praveen says. over the past few decade, india has managed to pull millions out of poverty. hard—fought achievements that have are at risk of coming undone. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. the family of breonna taylor, killed by police in her own home in louisville, kentucky, have agreed a multimillion—dollar settlement with the city. she was a 26—year—old emergency medical technician, shot eight times in march by police who entered her home in the middle of the night during a mistaken drugs raid. i asked our north america correspondent, david willis, about the response from breonna taylor's family. they're saying this is just one layer in the effort to seek

justice for the death of breonna taylor. one mile in a marathon, as they put it. they are seeking the arrest of the three officers involved in the death of ms taylor and comprehensive police reforms. the city council in louisville, kentucky has already banned so—called no—knock arrest warrants, this is where police can gain entry to a property without warning. among the other reforms that are being seen as part of this settlement is a requirement that all search warrants be approved in advance by a senior officer and that police wear body cameras and that paramedics and social workers be present at the time of such a search. well, this is what breonna taylor's mother, tamika palmer, had to say today. as significant as today is, it's only the beginning of getting full justice for breonna. her beautiful spirit and personality

is working through all of us on the ground. so, please, continue to say her name. tamika palmer there, of course, breonna's mother. david, as you've hinted, there's been pressure mounting that doubtless led to this, but there's much more that the family and many other campaigners would like to see done. absolutely and breonna taylor's name, of course, has become a symbol for the fight or racialjustice here in the united states over the last few months. along, of course, with that of george floyd who also died at the hands of police officers a couple of months after breonna taylor's death. together with several others, they've become these symbols of this call that's gone out almost daily in some cities for greater consideration of black and coloured people in this country. as far as breonna taylor's case is concerned, one of the officers involved in her death has been sacked but the other two have been placed on administrative leave

and there have been calls for all of them to face criminal charges. those charges could come down as early as next week. the grand jury is due to return a verdict on that. and this is what the mayor of louisville greg fisher has had to say today as well. i cannot begin to imagine ms palmer's pain and i'm deeply, deeply sorry for breonna's death. while we await a decision from attorney general daniel cameron on whether or not charges will be filed in this case, my administration is not waiting to move ahead with needed reforms to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again. that ward includes $12 million to breonna taylor's family to settle that wrongful death lawsuit and it is thought to be one of the highest settlements

of its kind in history here. david, thank you very much for that. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we take to the skies to remember the battle of britain, 80 years on. 30 hours after the earthquake that devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. there's people alive and there's people not alive. we just can help and give whatever we got. a state funeral has been held for princess grace of monaco, at the church where she married prince rainier, 26 years ago. it looked as though they had come to fight a war. but their mission is to bring peace to east timor, and nowhere on earth needs it more badly. the government's case has been forcefully presented by the mr badinter, the justice minister. he's campaigned vigorously for abolition, having once witnessed one of his clients being executed.

elizabeth seton has spent much of her time at this grotto, and every year hundreds of pilgrimages are made here. now that she has become a saint, it is expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businesses regard the anticipated boom as yet another blessing of saint elizabeth. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: history at the white house — as israel signs a peace deal with two arab countries. india has now crossed the unfortunate mark of having five million confirmed cases of coronavirus. humanity is at a crossroads and we have to take action now to make space for nature to recover. that's according to a report just published by the un convention on biological diversity. it sets out what it calls ‘urgent transitions' that could be implemented to slow nature's ongoing decline. our science and environment correspondent victoria gill has more.

time is running out to repair the damage we are doing to the natural world. that's the message from the un's convention on biological diversity. its latest report calls for urgent action to slow and eventually stop what it describes as nature's accelerating decline. covid—i9 has taught us clearly the relationship between human action and nature. so we need to change our production patterns, consumption patterns, human encroachment into the wildlife, into the forest. the picture this report paints is of an unsustainable relationship between humans and the natural world. one recent study calculated that nearly £400 billion is spent globally every year to subsidise activities that damage nature, like fossilfuel use, intensive agriculture and unsustainable fishing.

some of those billions, the un says, need to be redirected now into turning the tide on biodiversity loss. we certainly have to invest in conserving the nature that we still have, the wild places we still have, and also restoring those that we have lost. this will be essential to contribute to the climate agenda, as well as preventing the sixth mass extinction. this will mean that every country will need to make commitments to protect habitats, to produce food more sustainably and eat a more sustainable diet. that we will have to reduce pollution so that we and wildlife can have clean air and clean water, and we will have to make more space for greenery and nature, even in our most urban environments. there is a nature crisis, so we really need to think about how we can improve these areas and bring back nature to the city. we really need to connect

people back to that nature as well, so people really value its function. in the years ahead, countries will set out to repair the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. but without making space for nature as we rebuild, the un says we risk leaving a damaged planet forfuture generations. victoria gill, bbc news. a spokeswoman for alexi navalny said he will return to russia after he has recovered full he has been treated in germany after being poisoned while campaigning in russia. he posted these photos on social media saying for the first time he has been able to read on his own off a ventilator for an entire day. hurricane sally is heading for the gulf coast of the united states six erected to bring extreme life—threatening flash flooding. the

at least one fifth of american offshore oil production was shut ahead of landfall. in brazil, health regulators have authorised another 5000 clinical test of volunteers for the astrazeneca covid—i9 vaccine. they have been involved in phase three trials testing the efficacy of the vaccine. phase two have resumed in other countries after being suspended after a volunteers suffered a serious side effect. it's 80 years since britain's royal air force managed to repel two massive attacks by germany during world war ii, part of their victory in what became known as the battle of britain. more than 1,500 aircraft fought in the skies and the victory was seen as a turning point in the war. sarah campbell reports from biggin hill — one of the main fighter stations that protected london. it was really something to see all of those aircraft up there, realising that people

were going to get killed. a 17—year—old george don watched from battle of britain raged above him, inspired by the heroics, the heroics, he went on to join bomber command. the 97—year—old pilot was invited to watch a fly past which included a spitfire and hurricane, both of which played such a crucial role. to think that they were all young men and some of them only had about five or six weeks training, it was really something. knowing how important it was for the country. in september, 1940, britain was under sustained attack from the luftwaffe. the stakes could not have been higher. if the nazis won the battle in the skies, next would come the planned land invasion. the british people were fighting for their lives.

0n the 15th of september, 1940, the first two squadrons of spitfires to be tasked with taking on the luftwaffe took off from here, at biggin hill, and flew to canterbury and engaged in incredibly dangerous dog fights high in the sky and then came back to refuel the planes, the pilot had a cup of tea and a sandwich, and then they were right back out again. their bravery and ultimately their success is remembered today. what people tend to forget is how pivotal that day was, the one we are now celebrating. it literally could have gone either way, so to come here today and fly alongside the legendary aeroplanes that took part in the battle 80 years ago was a huge honour. the battle against coronavirus meant this year the 80th anniversary celebrations had to be curtailed, but the sacrifices have not been forgotten. 22, that was the average age. so they gave their lives to what people have got today, and i hope they don't forget that.

free—diving is an extraordinary and potentially dangerous sport. it involves divers heading deep underwater without any breathing apparatus. now a frenchman has just set a new world record for a type of free—diving — reaching a depth of more than a hundred metres. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. waiting is always the hardest part. arnaud jerald had come to greece for this world record attempt. the idyllic waters of the mediterranean are as good a place as any to try and make a little history. he was a study in concentration before slipping into the water and then disappearing beneath the surface. the record attempt was on. arnaud jerald was competing in the by fins category meaning he was wearing two flippers as opposed to one. guided by a cable he headed further and further into the depths. 0n

board, his team monitored his progress as he dived ever deeper. then he reached his target, 112 metres. and began the return trip to the surface. remember, he had no oxygen tank. he was doing this on just a lungful of air. all in all he spent nearly 3.5 minutes underwater full stop then he had to wait a little longer hoping the official would confirm the record, only recently set, was now his. cheering translation: yesterday, the day before my dive, i learned that the world record had been broken. it is not easy to put yourself in that position on the eve of a dive so i went through the day as if i was training. it

was probably the most dutiful dive this summer. beautiful and breathtaking. quite literally. 100 mexicans who won almost $1 million each on a national lottery to raffle off the presidentialjet. the president had promised to get rid of the custom fitted dreamliner, com plete custom fitted dreamliner, complete with king—size bed, to fight what he called decades of institutional corruption and excess. the total prize money loosely represents the value of the boeing 787. the proceeds are to be spent on public hospitals and the plane is still on sale, if you fancy it. and the main news again, the united arab emirates and bahrain have signed a diplomatic agreement with israel at the white house, the ceremony overseen by president trump. there is much more on all the news and in national and international on the bbc

website and on our twitter feeds. thank you for watching. hello, cooler weather on the way. that, of course, most noticeable where the past this couple of days have been so hot and also along some north sea coast, eastern scotland, northeast england with more of an onshore breeze for a stunner of a tuesday it will feel much cooler for wednesday. and the reason — we're losing high—pressure that brought the warmth up from the south, replacing it with another area of high pressure, the flow of air around that coming from a cooler direction in the northeast into some of the north sea coasts during wednesday and also this weather front moving south with cloud and not a huge amount of rain. before that completes its journey south, rather warm start for many of us on wednesday morning will feel cooler by thursday morning. from that weather front, cloud and a few spots of light rain and drizzle, parts of scotland, northern england, maybe northern ireland pushing

further south during the day, taking some cloud to the north and east of wales, the midlands and east anglia later on. south of that, south wales and southern england seeing some sunshine, just a slight chance of a shower in south—east england. northern scotland with sunny spells and temperatures in the mid teens here, some on the north sea coasts. the further south you are, some warmth into the mid—20s but that temperature still isn't as high as it has been in the past couple of days. now overnight and into thursday, some areas of cloud, patches of mist and fog and maybe some low clouds and mistiness running down the north sea coasts to start the day, on thursday, there will be a cooler night butjust dipping down into single figures. now, on thursday, it is high pressure replacing high pressure, still a lot of settled weather around. still a good deal of sunshine, particularly into england and wales. sunny spells through the cloud across most of scotland and northern ireland, we could see some rain in the western isles and temperatures are much closer to average for the time of year, still a little bit above them. quite a keen and noticeable easterly breeze blowing

across southern parts of the uk in particular. whilst many on friday hold onto the sunshine as the weather front moves into scotland and approaching northern ireland, some thicker cloud and you may see a bit of rain that does not appear to amount to very much. looking into the weekend, high—pressure for many of us, so an area of low pressure throwing up this weather front and maybe a few showers that way later on in the weekend, but for most over the weekend, it is looking dry, variable cloud and some sunny spells, and brisk easterly breeze to the south and a growing chance of picking up a shower, particularly into parts of england by sunday.

this is bbc news,

the headlines: the united arab emirates and bahrain have signed diplomatic agreements with israel at the white house at a ceremony overseen by president donald trump. the gulf states are only the third and fourth arab nations to recognise israel, but it's thought more may follow. the news has dismayed palestinians, whose conflicts with israel remain unresolved. the number of confirmed coronavirus infections in india has crossed five million — the second highest in the world after the us. in the past few days the virus has spread much faster than in any other country. daily infections passed 90,000 for the five days up to monday. the mayor of louisville, kentucky, has said the city is to pay $12 million to the family of breonna taylor. the 26—year—old emergency medical technician was shot eight times by police who burst into her home in the middle of the night, during a mistaken drugs raid.