this is bbc news — i'm lewis vaughanjones with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. violent clashes on the streets of bristol — after thousands protest against increased police powers to control british demonstrations. blocked off, now, the end of the city center street, but also the side roads too. and they are doing it from behind, but there are still about a thousand people in here and now they are being left with nowhere to go. mass evacuations — as south—east australia is struck by the worst floods in a century — the prime minister offers emergency funds to those affected. warnings of a humanitarian crisis on the us border — as record numbers try to illegally, cross into america. officials in miami beach extend

the state of emergency and enforce a curfew — after spring break parties get out of hand. and — staying in touch during covid — the couple divided by the border between canada and the united states. here in the uk: two police officers are in hospital after clashes with protesters in the city of bristol. thousands of people were demonstrating against a proposed new law that would give police more powers to limit street protests. as the hours went by, it turned violent. the uk's home secretary condemned what she called unacceptable thuggery and disorder. our correspondent andrew plant sent this report from the scene.

in a protest against new police powers, it was soon police themselves who became the target. vans and a police car set on fire, fireworks thrown into the crowd as around 1000 protesters gathered in bristol city centre in what has been, police say, the worst violence the city has seen in years. there's a row of police blocking off what is the central police station here in bristol, but you can see at the end of the road, they've also blocked off now the end of this city centre street, but also the side roads too, and they're doing it from behind, but there are still about 1000 people here and now they are being left with nowhere to go. protesters here holding banners, concerned, they say, that the uk is becoming a police state. the kill the bill march started in the early afternoon, but as night fell, the clashes began. projectiles thrown at officers in riot gear. we saw several people with head injuries being helped from the crowd. i think it's horrible and i agree with the cause

of the protesters but i don't think this is going to do anybody any good. several officers have been injured, some reported to have broken bones. the chair of the avon and somerset police federation said people's right to protest had been hijacked by protesters hell—bent on violence. let's speak to a local journalist who was at the scene — alon aviram — editor of the bristol cable newspaper. just tell us what you saw when you were there. i just tell us what you saw when you were there.— just tell us what you saw when you were there. i mean, as the day progressed _ you were there. i mean, as the day progressed and _ you were there. i mean, as the day progressed and as - you were there. i mean, as the day progressed and as you - you were there. i mean, as the| day progressed and as you have just heard the protests started to heat up, there were thousands of people initially who defied orders to march around bristol and against the police crime sentencing courts bill which is clamping down on the right to protest. and as

evening descended people encircled to the main police station in the city center. after quite a tense standoff right police came in, dogs came in horses and the scenes that unfolded have been going around the world now. there were police fans on fire, projectiles being thrown, protesters being hit with batons and pepper sprayed. the sort of scenes we have not seen in bristol for many years that i don't think the uk really, deathly not england has seen for probably since the protests following the killing of mark duggan. following the killing of mark du can. ., . following the killing of mark duncan, ., ., ,, following the killing of mark dunan. ., . ,, ., duggan. you are speaking to --eole duggan. you are speaking to peeple there. _ duggan. you are speaking to people there, what - duggan. you are speaking to people there, what with - duggan. you are speaking to | people there, what with their motivations for being out and protesting? i motivations for being out and protesting?— protesting? i think it was a combination _ protesting? i think it was a combination of _ protesting? i think it was a combination of things. - protesting? i think it was a combination of things. i i protesting? i think it was a i combination of things. i think it's frustration at a sense of a perceived sense of this bill

being rushed through parliament without proper oversight without proper oversight without scrutiny and it basically being an opportunity to clamp down on the right to protest and then that was obvious that coupled with a very kind of visceral feeling of support and sadness following the murder of sarah as well. a combination of factors. as well. a combination of factore— as well. a combination of factors. , ., . factors. just looking into that the said factors. just looking into that they said it — factors. just looking into that they said it was _ factors. just looking into that they said it was people - factors. just looking into that they said it was people to - they said it was people to begin with, and then turned violent, a sense of what happened and what triggered that violence? it’s happened and what triggered that violence?— happened and what triggered that violence? it's hard to say but i think _ that violence? it's hard to say but | think that _ that violence? it's hard to say but i think that from - that violence? it's hard to say but i think that from what - that violence? it's hard to say but i think that from what i i but i think that from what i observed as soon as the response on part of the police

ramped up in terms of bringing in right shields and dogs and horses, it created a focus, and it really seems like it was a spark waiting to happen, to be honest. we have heard from police as well that they were putting call—outs for police who are off—duty to come in as well, so it seems as the force was caught quite unaware as well. , , , , , was caught quite unaware as well, , , , , ., well. just very briefly we are in the middle _ well. just very briefly we are in the middle of _ well. just very briefly we are in the middle of a _ well. just very briefly we are | in the middle of a pandemic, did not seem to be social distancing going on. i mean, ou distancing going on. i mean, you know. — distancing going on. i mean, you know, it's— distancing going on. i mean, you know, it's one _ distancing going on. i mean, you know, it's one of - distancing going on. i mean, you know, it's one of those i you know, it's one of those things when there's thousands of people gathered together this plenty of people wearing masks. plenty of people who were feeling are comfortable about being there but felt one person who i was speaking with said they felt that they had to come out even though they felt

scared of being in a crowded environment, they felt that these measures were being rushed through parliament and it was going to damage a pillar of any vibrant and healthy democracy, the right to protest. democracy, the right to protest-— democracy, the right to rotest. ., ~ , . protest. thank you very much for coming — protest. thank you very much for coming on. _ heavy rains have triggered the worst floods for a century in parts of australia. thousands of residents in the state of new south wales have been told to leave their homes. forecasters are warning that more rain is expected. to give you an idea ofjust how saturated the ground is, take a look at these pictures, filmed at 0xley island, about 250 kilometres north of sydney. the water simply has nowhere to go. and that's led to images like this — a house, literally floating away. it's believed it belonged to a couple who were due to get married on saturday. the river is peaking nearly six metres above normal — that's almost 20 feet.

it's already burst its banks. things are so serious that prime minister, scott morrison, has put the australian defence force on standby. communities along the hawkesbury river near sydney risk losing their homes and vital utilities could be disrupted for months. let's speak to lucy hughes now. thank you very much for coming on the programme in this difficult time.— on the programme in this - difficult time._ just difficult time. thank you. just talk through _ difficult time. thank you. just talk through what _ difficult time. thank you. just talk through what has - difficult time. thank you. just i talk through what has happened to you, hear yourfamily talk through what has happened to you, hear your family has been split up and evacuated to different places.— different places. yes, so i'm currently _ different places. yes, so i'm currently on _ different places. yes, so i'm currently on the _ different places. yes, so i'm currently on the city - different places. yes, so i'm currently on the city side - different places. yes, so i'm currently on the city side ofl currently on the city side of the river and my family, my parents and brother are currently in north richmond, my parents live in another area which is just down from windsor bridge. which is 'ust down from windsor brid . e. �* ., , which is 'ust down from windsor brid . e. �* . , ., bridge. and what is the threat level there — bridge. and what is the threat level there to _ bridge. and what is the threat level there to your _ bridge. and what is the threat level there to your childhood i level there to your childhood home for the home that you grew up home for the home that you grew up in? home for the home that you grew u- in? ~ . , �* , up in? well currently it's ma'or up in? well currently it's major flooding. - up in? well currently it's major flooding. our - up in? well currently it'sl major flooding. our home up in? well currently it's - major flooding. our home is majorflooding. our home is currently sitting on its own

little island, it's currently surrounded by water. my parents and brother, we tried to take what necessities and sentimental stuff that we could and they evacuated down to north richmond which is also in majorflood zone as north richmond which is also in major flood zone as well. we can 'ust major flood zone as well. we can just see _ major flood zone as well. we can just see the _ major flood zone as well. we canjust see the pictures major flood zone as well. we can just see the pictures that are from you just seeing how close the water is to the house there. just give us a flavor of what emotions you are going through at the moment. mr; what emotions you are going through at the moment. my whole famil is through at the moment. my whole family is devastated. _ through at the moment. my whole family is devastated. we - through at the moment. my whole family is devastated. we are - family is devastated. we are beyond the level of shock, those photos were taken about an hour ago and it is weather and flood levels are only expected to rise even more. so we had to come to the realization that water is going to rise and go to rise and our family home and a property that's been an hourfamily

family home and a property that's been an hour family for two generations. a lot of memories in that place and a lot of value and sentimental things that we own that we are going to lose. and the parents are going to lose and we are going to have to start over again. charliejust in a mood of complete devastation. mr; of complete devastation. my thou~hts of complete devastation. my thoughts of course are with you and yourfamily thoughts of course are with you and your family as you try and just horrible wait and see of what happens. what have you been told about what happens of the days to come and weeks to come? ~ ., , ~ ., ., ., come? we only know what we have been seeing _ come? we only know what we have been seeing on _ come? we only know what we have been seeing on the _ come? we only know what we have been seeing on the news, - come? we only know what we have been seeing on the news, been - been seeing on the news, been refreshing for whatever websites hourly. my brother and father returned back to the property via boat because the only way we can find out what's happening in the area and these photos only taken an hour ago after having access that area by boat. for nowjust wait and see come in the next 2a hours

should be more water in the dam it's tinny continuing to spill and stump this into the river system and the level of water is only going to rise. we are hanging onto the hope for a miracle because miracles can happen and can only hope for that. , ., , , that. resend it our best wishes. _ that. resend it our best wishes, thank _ that. resend it our best wishes, thank you - that. resend it our best wishes, thank you for i that. resend it our best - wishes, thank you for coming on talking to us. as record numbers of people attempt to illegally cross into the the us a top official in the biden administration has said that the border is closed. the homeland security secretary, alejandro mayorkas, told us news channels that the message to people thinking about crossing the southern us border is simple — �*do not come'. amongst the groups making the treacherous journey are many thousands of unaccompanied children and they are now being held in huge camps. 0ur correspondent, sophie long, sent us this report from the rio grande valley.

thousands of migrants are crossing the united states' southern border illegally every day. many of them are children who've made the dangerous journey alone. wejoined sergeant roger rich as he patrolled the vast scrubland along the river that separates texas from mexico. before the new president took office, we didn't have these types of numbers coming across. we see unaccompanied children all the time. we caught one on monday that was coming in from bolivia, that was ten—years—old, by himself. as every day ends here, a waiting game begins. soon, emerging from the banks of the rio grande, eight scared, bewildered and exhausted boys. they left guatemala weeks ago, coming without parents or passports, just plastic packages protecting birth certificates and crucial phone numbers. so, he's going to somebody

who's going to help take care of him. milken is 17. he tells me he came here because he wants to study. at home, there's only crime and gangs. the boys are directed to this temporary processing site from which we were evicted and told we couldn't film. it's likely some will be sent here. dallas convention center has been converted to hold up to 3000 unaccompanied children. media are not allowed in. families are coming too. some say they come because the cartels that control the mexican side are telling those desperate to hear it that the new president has opened the border. with this new administration, numbers are starting to go up because they feel that possibly they have a chance to be heard, to be allowed to be inside. the previous administration had the same problem, not because they were very kind and wanting to welcome everybody but it was because they had hopes that maybe i'll get in before

he kicks us out. why did you decide to leave your mum, your brothers? milken tells me he's run from violence and poverty. he doesn't even know who president biden is. all he knows is how hard it was to say goodbye to his family. i give him my phone so he can call the uncle he's desperately trying to reach. but he's thousands of miles away in seattle. these boys may have made it to the promised land but theirjourney is far from over. their future now as uncertain as the day they left home. sophie long, bbc news, the rio grande valley. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the couple

and the united states — who are keeping their relationship alive, during covid. with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa be excluded from the 1970 competition. singing. streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage i from mir drew gasps i from onlookers on fiji.

wow! this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. violent clashes on the streets of bristol, after thousands protest against increased police powers to control british demonstrations. mass evacuations — as south—east australia is struck by the worst floods in a century — the prime minister offers emergency funds to those affected. officials in miami have extended a state of emergency for three weeks saying crowds of visitors are spreading chaos and disorder. just look at these scenes — filmed on saturday evening. this is the time of year when young americans — particularly college students — head off on spring break. police used pepper balls to clear these crowds — as you can see, there was little social distancing or mask wearing in evidence.

let's speak to our north america correspondent peter bowes. so curfew, which is come in in the last hour or so, i suppose police are looking now to see if that does what it's intended.— if that does what it's intended. , ., , ., intended. these really are, . uite intended. these really are, quite extraordinary - intended. these really are, quite extraordinary scenes| intended. these really are, - quite extraordinary scenes that we are seeing in miami beach, throngs of people and many of them students but local officials are saying amongst them general tourists, and adults as well commit to florida steadily and increasingly over the last few weeks. it is spring break, a traditional time for college students to party, to let their hair down a little bit before they get back to their studies over the next few weeks and months. these scenes are different, you might remember this time last year at exactly the same place during spring break a lot of the students then were partying, they were heavily criticized right at the beginning of the pandemic. the

mood now seems to be read as if the pandemic were over and of course it is not. some seem to be in a celebratory mood and almost carefree believing that covid is not going to get them. some talking about the fact that they've had the vaccination. 0thers saying they just want to party. bud vaccination. others saying they just want to party.— vaccination. others saying they just want to party. and how has florida been _ just want to party. and how has florida been handling _ just want to party. and how has florida been handling the - florida been handling the pandemic more widely? well, florida has — pandemic more widely? well, florida has been _ pandemic more widely? well, | florida has been controversial. all the way through the pandemic the republican governor ron desantis last month described florida as an oasis of freedom from coronavirus restrictions. it's now one of the few states that has lifted all of its restrictions, those kind of restrictions, those kind of restrictions that many of us in other parts of the country are still dealing with. and a number of people believe that's why the influx of tourists has increased because people believe they have come from boston or new york where major

restrictions are still in force, and the belief that they can go to florida, they can lead relatively normal lives there during their holiday. bud there during their holiday. and 'ust there during their holiday. and just briefly. — there during their holiday. and just briefly, what _ there during their holiday. and just briefly, what with the ordinary people and residents of the area made of this? because presumably some will be welcoming the economic benefits but others i'm sure are not. while the problem for a lot of those people is that some of the businesses have been forced to close down. after everything they've been through for the past year because of the huge numbers of people, for public safety they've had to close down. they are not happy about that. other residents are saying the beach area is not a place that would normally go to anyway, and i think they are looking up on these people in a very negative way for essentially bringing, as they would see it come with this bad behavior to their town. at a time that they have been trying themselves to follow the kind of restrictions that people across the country are continuing to follow, because

if you look at the numbers, the number of new cases are about a thousand in the neighboring county, more than 4000 across the state of florida every day over the past week.— the state of florida every day over the past week. thank you for the update. _ now to the southern philippines and an area rarely visited by the western media. the newly established bangsamoro autonomous region of muslim mindanao is the product of a recent peace deal between separatist fighters and the philippine government. after decades of conflict, the moro islamic liberation front is now transitioning to politics, helping to establish a fledgling regional parliament in return for the decommissioning of firearms. but with other factions still at war with state forces, can the peace hold? 0ur correspondent howard johnson, visited the region, with the westminster foundation for democracy, to take a closer look. the dimaukom mosque was painted electric pink to promote peace and love in an area beset by violence.

we've come here to meet umi and comenie, two former fighters of the separatist group the moro islamic liberation front. i ask umi why shejoined the group. translation: i saw my parents being hit by some soldiers. - they killed my uncle who was tending to his water buffalo on his farm when they passed by. another relative was also killed. they threw their bodies into the river. the bangsamoro, meaning nation of the moro people, say that this is part of decades of religious discrimination from catholic—dominated manila. first established as the moro national liberation front, the milf split away to form the region's most dominant insurgency in the 1990s. the group that once trained with al-qaeda now say they reject that violent ideology, hoping to build a better future for their people through a fledgling regional parliament. translation: the ethnic

cleansing back then - was during the times of my parents. the difference now — i'm myself an employee of the government. i became one of the instruments to continue to fight for the bangsmoro cause through the government. and it appears that the peace is holding. the milf have publicly decommissioned hundreds of firearms. the organisation international alert say overall violence in the region has declined year on year since 2016 but intensified in some localities. although the peace process appears to be taking root, there are factions here that never wanted to be part of it in the first place. so, that's why we're travelling with a police escort because in recent weeks, there have been roadside bomb attacks, skirmishes between local clans, and there remains a kidnapping risk for westerners like me. but in the main market of the regional capital cotabato city, there's a palpable sense that things are changing. translation: we want peace. we muslims and christians come from the same place. stop the war, stop

the misunderstandings. the peace deal agreed full elections for parliament next year but the region's chief minister says he'd like to push back the vote until 2025 because of setbacks caused by the pandemic. what do you say to those critics who say, "could this be seen as a power grab?" there's nothing wrong in the extension because we see the failure to properly implement the agreement will result in the failure of the peace process. for years, umi and comenie were enemies of the state. a family outing like this would have been impossible. but now the police turn a blind eye to them. the mosque's appeal for peace seems to be working. howard johnson, bbc news, maguindanao. with covid restrictions in place around the world — spare a thought for people just trying to get to know each other — especially when living in different countries. here's david campanale with the story of how one couple split between canada and the united states have kept their relationship alive.

room to move safely and space to keep love alive. for american regan steel and canadian rod greenwood, this park has become central to their relationship. since the beginning of the pandemic a border crossing at peace arch park is where they get together. we have been dating now about six, six this year? we met online. we have been spending some time down in the states because his son was there. that was how we met up. every weekend, flanked by a tent, portable heater, coffee and hot chocolate, the couple meet to do jigsaw puzzles, listen to music and talk. this time last year, the us— canada border was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. british columbia closed its side of the park, but washington state remained

open for canadians to enter, and has proved a lifeline for couples in cross—border relationships. it has been great coming to the park and having this here, because this is the only way we have been able to spend time with each other in the last almost 11 months now and if we didn't have this we wouldn't be able to see each other. but with covid restrictions pushed to the limit and border officials under political pressure to act, park access might come to a close, and couples will have to fix the puzzle of another kind, how to keep love alive online. david campanale, bbc news. and finally wales has found itself welcoming an unexpected visitor. a giant walrus has been spotted in pembrokeshire, thousands of miles from its home in the arctic circle. it's thought it's the same animal that was spotted off the coast of county kerry in ireland last week. biologists believe there's a chance it fell asleep on an iceberg and was then carried south.

that's it from me. hello there. it looks like our weather pattern is going to change over the week ahead. for the past few days we've had quiet, settled weather. it's been warm when the sun has been out. high pressure in charge. let me show you the upper level winds, the jet stream, that's the position of the jet stream and you can see how undulating that pattern is right now. but as we head into the week, we get more of a zonal flow. west—to—east wind coming in and bringing in air from the atlantic, and lower pressure means the weather is eventually going to turn more unsettled. fairly quiet at the moment, still. we've got a chilly start underneath those clearer skies. more cloud coming into northern ireland, north west england and especially western scotland. a little light rain or drizzle here. elsewhere it looks like it's going to be a dry day. some sunshine at times, light winds, temperatures again peaking at 13 or 14 celsius through the midlands, south east england, east anglia

and the north east of scotland. moving quickly onto tuesday, and we've got a fresher breeze picking up. south or south—westerly wind, looks like it's going to bring in a lot of cloud. maybe some dampness in the air out towards the west ahead of a band of rain that comes into northern ireland, western scotland later. temperatures again are perhaps 13 or 14 in the east where skies should be a bit brighter. we start to see the weather changing, though from midweek. that weather front bringing rain down from the north west into england and wales, not going to amount to very much at all. still dry in the south east for a while. after that band of patchy rain, we get some sunshine and then the weather turns wetter in the north west, especially into western scotland. the winds are bit stronger here. elsewhere, the winds should be fairly light which is why that band of cloud and rain isn't moving very far. temperatures not changing very much, again, on wednesday. the winds continue to pick up though, i think, during thursday and we start to see some mixture, really, of sunshine and showers. some wetter weather, though, a band of rain coming into northern ireland,

into western scotland through the day. and temperatures of 12, 13, maybe 14 celsius — near normal for this time of the year. but as we head towards the end of the week, we've got low pressure in charge. that's coming down from greenland, settling between iceland and scotland and that's going to bring colder air across the uk together with some much stronger wind. and we're looking at some bands of rain or showers and it's cold enough for those showers to be wintry over northern hills, perhaps even down into parts of wales as well. temperature wise, 7 celsius in the north, maybe making double figures in the south east.

this is bbc news. the headlines.

several police officers have been seriously injured during violent protests in bristol. thousands of people gathered to oppose the uk government's police and crime bill — which would give forces in england and wales more powers to curb protests. clashes then broke out at a city centre police station. parts of new south wales in australia are suffering their worst floods in a century. torrential downpours have caused dams to overflow and river levels to surge. around 1,000 people in the western suburbs of sydney are the latest to be urged to evacuate their homes. there are warnings of a humanitarian crisis on the southern us border — as record numbers of people attempt to corss illegally into the the us. —— to cross illegally. amongst the groups making the treacherous journey are many thousands of unaccompanied children. the biden administration has stressed the border is now closed. now on bbc news, panorama.