welcome to bbc news, my name's mike embley, our top stories: president biden confirms all us military forces will withdraw from afghanistan by september the 11th — he says it's time to end the war. we went to afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago. that cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021. a police officer is charged with the manslaughter of the young black man, daunte wright in minneapolis. the noes have it. british mps reject opposition calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the former prime minister david cameron's attempts to gain government contracts for a business which has collapsed.

# feel the heat!# and we speak to the american rock legend, gene simmons, a singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spans over 50 years. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. president biden is ending america's longest ever war. us soldiers invaded afghanistan in 2001, almost 20 years later, they are still there. but not for much longer. he will withdraw the remaining 2,500 troops by september the 11th, the anniversary of the terror attack that launched this fight. here's what mr biden had to say

a little earlier today. keeping a little earlier today. thousands of troops grounded keeping thousands of troops grounded and concentrated in just one country at a cost of billions each year makes little sense to me and our leaders. we cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in afghanistan hoping to create ideal conditions for the withdrawal and expecting a different result. president biden had to make a decision by may one, the us taliban deal had dictated that they do withdraw us troops, and what is striking to me about this decision is the un— conditionality of the withdrawal that president biden agreed to. even president trump who certainly wanted to end

this endless war, as he called it, signed a peace deal with the taliban that made us withdrawal conditional on some things. counterterrorism commitments, to be precise. but president biden�*s withdrawal plan does not apply, it is a withdrawal pure and simple. at the derek chauvin trial it's been the second day of the defence case. the former officer is facing murder and manslaughter charges after the death of george floyd. 0ur north america correspondent larry madowo reports from minneapolis. the defence is close to wrapping up its case in the derek chauvin trial and will hear closing arguments from both sides on monday. the 13th day was among one of the more dramatic ones. on wednesday it began with the defence asking for an acquittal. they want derek chauvin to be allowed to walk free because, in their eyes, the prosecution has brought witnesses that have contradicted themselves and they think they haven't met the standard for use of force or the cause of death of george floyd and they think

their client should be let free. the judge denied that and then a witness who was with george floyd on the day he was arrested and was allegedly the one who supplied some of his drugs, refused to testify for fear of incriminating himself. but a large part of the day focused on the testimony of dr david fowler. he is a forensic pathologist and he used to be the chief medical examiner for the state of maryland. his big picture testimony is that george floyd's death was not because of oxygen deficiency as the prosocution�*s witnesses have said and what the medical coroner here ruled but george floyd died because of a heart attack when he was being restrained. he essentially blamed it on contributing factors that included his use of drugs, they found fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system. he blamed it on george floyd's underlying health problems and also some carbon monoxide that was coming from the squad car which was where he was lying

during his arrest. the prosecution accused dr fowler of cherry picking facts and trying to confuse the jury. dr fowler has also another case, he has been accused by a black family in the state of maryland of helping the police cover—up the death of a black man, anton black, in 2018 and that case is still ongoing. this is all happening in the backdrop of continuing protests over the death of daunte wright, in brooklyn centre, a suburb north of minneapolis. with the area already so tense just about three miles away, a former policewoman has been charged with manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a young black man, daunte wright. police say ken potter had intended to use her taser and the shooting was accidental. death has sparked four nights of protests and looting, we have been seeing photos of more

protests coming on in the last few hours. let's quickly round up few hours. let's quickly round up some of the main news for you. denmark is the first country in the world to stop using the oxford astrazeneca vaccine entirely. authorities cite concerns about rare blood clots. authorities in the uk insist that the jab is safe but adults under 30 are to be first a alternative. the disgraced financier a benard made of has died in prison, he was serving a sentence of 150 years for running a ponzi fraud scheme. the opposition labour party has lost a vote to set up a parliamentary enquiry into david cameron's lobbying of ministers on behalf of an hour failed financial services firm called greensill capital. sir keir starmer accused the british prime minister of

presiding over what he called a return to tory sleaze. the greensill _ return to tory sleaze. the greensill standard - return to tory sleaze. the greensill standard is - return to tory sleaze. tue: greensill standard is the return to tory sleaze. tte: greensill standard is the tip of the iceberg. privileged access, jobs for their mates, this is the return of tory sleaze. mr speaker, it's now so ingrained in this government, we don't need another conservative party appointees marking their own homework. actually, mr speaker, the more a listen to the prime minister, the more i think ted hastings and i see 12 are needed to get to the bottom of this one. in to the bottom of this one. in response, borisjohnson said he shared the concerns raised but insisted there review he has offered will get to the bottom offered will get to the bottom of the issue.— of the issue. top civil servants _ of the issue. top civil servants should - of the issue. top civil servants should be i of the issue. top civil i servants should be able of the issue. top civil - servants should be able to engage with business and have experience of the private sector. when a look at the accounts i'm reading today, it is not clear that those boundaries have been properly understood, and i have asked

for a proper independent review of the arrangements that we have to be conducted by nigel boardman, and he will be reporting injune and if he has any representations he wishes to make on that subject he should do so to mr boardman. now, i am saying goodbye after 38 years. my amazing team of producers, it says here, has been booking surprise guests for me all night stopping that has all come with a complete response to me, it says on autocue, as well as this next item as i am told the story so far. �* . , far. i'm feeling a bit hysterical, - far. i'm feeling a bit hysterical, one - far. i'm feeling a bit i hysterical, one o'clock far. i'm feeling a bit - hysterical, one o'clock in the morning... hysterical, one o'clock in the morning- - -— hysterical, one o'clock in the morning... ah, mike embley. yes, that _ morning... ah, mike embley. yes, that incisive _ morning... ah, mike embley. yes, that incisive interviewer| yes, that incisive interviewer of hundreds of people over decades. of hundreds of people over decades-— of hundreds of people over decades. . , decades. there are very few eo - le decades. there are very few peeple i _ decades. there are very few people i would _ decades. there are very few people i would do _ decades. there are very few people i would do that - decades. there are very few people i would do that for, l people i would do that for, and to wake up in the middle of the night. when a wake up in the morning i'm a hundred years old. # my feet on the floor and

i'm 99. a good hot shower and i'm 99. a good hot shower and i'm looking at 80, after breakfast i'm 79. # i should say, i really should be interviewing you. i have googled you for the things they don't know and the things they haven't listened to and my goodness, you have been all over the place. i'm tempted to ask why you are retiring but oh no, you are running the show so i should be asking questions. some would say he is ill all over the place. t some would say he is ill all over the place.— some would say he is ill all over the place. i don't want to net too over the place. i don't want to get too caught _ over the place. i don't want to get too caught up _ over the place. i don't want to get too caught up and - over the place. i don't want to get too caught up and about l over the place. i don't want to i get too caught up and about me, me, me, we do find. iam here to think that praises of caesar, not variant, i am fan of mike embley. i believe you are going to do great things. i hear rumblings on the street that the powerful and

attractive mike embley is about to get onto another part of his career. i have no doubt you are going to burn some rubber and show people how it's done, isn't that right?— show people how it's done, isn't that right? no, but thank ou ve isn't that right? no, but thank you very much. _ isn't that right? no, but thank you very much, gene, - isn't that right? no, but thank you very much, gene, that. isn't that right? no, but thank you very much, gene, that is. you very much, gene, that is very kind of you. now we get to delve into the archives. trouble is, mike hasn't actually aged. ever since his time in the 80s on wales today. here is our reporter in 1992 checking out these increasingly popular things called credit card the queen's face already on banknotes, it seemed only fair to slap on banknotes, it seemed only fairto slap his on banknotes, it seemed only fair to slap his on these. haifa fair to slap his on these. now on bbc one. _ fair to slap his on these. now on bbc one, the _ fair to slap his on these. now on bbc one, the news - fair to slap his on these. now on bbc one, the news in - fair to slap his on these. now on bbc one, the news in london and the — on bbc one, the news in london and the south—east with mike emblex _ and the south-east with mike emble . ., �* , and the south-east with mike emble . ., �*, .,, and the south-east with mike emble. ., �*, ., embley. tonight's top story, a evapected _ embley. tonight's top story, a suspected kidnapped - embley. tonight's top story, a suspected kidnapped victim i embley. tonight's top story, a suspected kidnapped victim is| suspected kidnapped victim is found — suspected kidnapped victim is found murdered _ suspected kidnapped victim is found murdered and - suspected kidnapped victim is found murdered and north. found murdered and north london _ found murdered and north london. ., . ,, . , found murdered and north london. ., . ,, ., , london. for many years, mike was anchoring _ london. for many years, mike was anchoring coverage - london. for many years, mike was anchoring coverage in - london. for many years, mike was anchoring coverage in the | was anchoring coverage in the capital, before taking on the world, which brings us back to

more of his dream guests. my next guest. — more of his dream guests. tj�*i' next guest, one more of his dream guests. ti: next guest, one of more of his dream guests. ti next guest, one of my more of his dream guests. ti; next guest, one of my all—time musical favourites, next guest, one of my all—time musicalfavourites, many�*s favourites, eliza carthy. congratulations on your long service — congratulations on your long service and this is for you. # my friends, good night. so it's aoodb e my friends, good night. so it's goodbye to — my friends, good night. so it's goodbye to that _ my friends, good night. so it's goodbye to that trademark - my friends, good night. so it's i goodbye to that trademark head tilts, possibly the most trusted man in global news and that reassuring style. luckily there are some haircuts mark did not get to. very many thanks to mark and my amazing team of reducers, directors, autocue operators and floor operators, it says he do stay with us on bbc news, much more to come. more from the american rock legend gene simmons, the lead singer, of course, of kiss. pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers,

has reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock. and as for her sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world best time for years to come. shouting. quite quietly but quicker and quicker, she seemed tojust slide away under the surface and disappear.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president biden confirms all us military forces will withdraw from afghanistan by september 11. he says it's time to end the war. a policewoman is charged with the manslaughter of the young black man, daunte wright, in minneapolis. we know that the arts have been one of the industries hardest hit by the pandemic stopping musicians in particular not able to tour. earlier i spoke tojean simmons and asked him first of all how he coped with lockdown. actually quite good. we are blessed because we have jobs and we can go back to doing what we are doing. the sad state of affairs is that there are millions of people, especially in the free world but clearly in the third world who have lostjobs, families have been ruined, so i think that all of us need to get

a wake—up call and try to help those that aren't as lucky as we are but you know, there is a light at the end of the darkness, we are coming out of it. please, please tug on the shirtsleeves of those anti—vaxxers, those who believe it is fake. the earth is not flat, it is round, as much as people say otherwise please do it for their sake on their own safety. i don't want to get caught up too much about me, me, me and kiss, we do fine, i'm here to sing the praises of caesar, not bury him. i am a fan of mike embley, can i say that, and i think you are going to do great things. i hear rumblings on the street that mr embley, the powerful and attractive mike embley is about to get onto another part of his career. i have no doubt you are going to burn some rubber and show people how it's done, isn't that right? no, but thank you very much.

that's very kind of you. i was going to ask you, talking about so many people affected, musicians affect , people we tend to look up to. i am currently having a guitar teacher at the moment who should not be teaching the likes of me guitar, he should be doing back—to—back gigs in studio sessions. he is only doing it like so many musicians because he needs the money, i will lose him when they all all come back. he was talking about this sense of lockdown, not thing able to talk to crowds, performing to them, it messes with your sense of self. are you conscious of that? he says he is not sure sometimes who he is any more. i'm not conscious of any of that because i am delusional. i wear more make—up and high heels than your girlfriend. i am i have a long appendage, an oral appendage. watch what you are saying, this is a family show. i would stick it out, but the floor is dirty, you can't do that.

so i have nothing but a sense of clear minded delusion. when you get up on stage, you had to convince yourself you are "all that" in the patois of the street. kiss will continue on, doing things after the pandemic is over. getting vaccinated, we will be in australia in november. it's going to get safer and when it really opens up, how the big boys do it. talking of legends, peggy is a legendary musician on the scene, and she is still writing at the age of 65 years on the scene. sees an active campaigner on the environment, and social issues, and she has

just released a 2k solo album, the first farewell, the first to be recorded solely with family members. let's have a listen to one of the songs. got to get home by magnate. # when i wake up in the morning i'm 100 years old. # my feet on the floor and i'm 99 # a good hot shower and i'm looking at 80 # after breakfast i'm 79 # getting younger by the hour # gotta get home by midnight # it's a beautiful day, i'm 64 in my new red shoes # my kitchen is a dance floor # lunchtime, and i'm in my prime # 50 and i'm heading for a9, getting younger by the hour # gotta get home by midnight # an hour ago i was 41, i said i was 39 # but now i'm 20, heading for my teens # hormones driving me out of my mind

# if i stay any longer, i'll be buying those blue jeans # the ones manufactured with the holes all over # getting younger by the hour # gotta get home by midnight.# a huge thanks to peggy, she lives in the uk so she got up after one in the morning just to speak to us. i didn't stay up first of all, i went to bed at eight o'clock and i put an alarm on and i have to tell you, there are very few people i would do that for, to wake up in the middle of the night. we are incredibly honoured, peggy, thank you. i've seen you live many times, we've talked a couple of times. you completed an album, of course. i know you've talked about, both your sons are very accomplished musicians, accomplished producers. hard taskmasters in the studio. the producer is the boss. lord, yes, and they certainly let me know, they did. he said, "mum..." and we had a couple of arguments about it because i was still thinking, "i'm their mother, for goodness' sake, even though they are in their mid—50s," but we work as musicians. when we tour, we are musicians and rarely do i pull

the mother card. very, very rarely. by the way, i am almost 86. and you are going back on tour with them? well, i usually only tour with one of the time. we have our first date this year in may, may 27, we are doing to back—to—back socially distanced concerts. i can't imagine what that's going to be like. you're used to speaking to a camera, you're used to speaking to a microphone. and i should say, i really should be interviewing you. i have googled you, the things i don't know and the things i haven't listened to, and my goodness, you have been all over the place. i'm tempted to ask why you're retiring but i know you're running the show, so i shouldn't be asking questions. some would say he is still all over the place. peggy, i have many great

memories of seeing you live. there is another reason, no reason you'd remember. i was trying to get you to record a song of mine. you were very gracious about it. this was in another life. you were extremely gracious, you took the lyric and the cords and even a guide vocalfrom me, and i think there was about a day of tension on my part, and then you came back and said, "i don't think there is a tune. "i can't record this, i can't hear a tune." it was wonderful that you were honest. and i was disappointed and talking to a friend of mine and he said, "man, yoursong has been on peggy seeger�*s guitar, it's been on her lips, even if she thinks your song is rubbish, your work here is done." it's an achievement in itself. i learn from any time somebody sends me a song and i get some appalling things and i get some wonderful things, so if i spent time on your song, it meant it was worth spending time on. i choose what i spend time on. it was very much appreciated, even as far as it got,

i can assure you. i know you are dealing remarkably of course with your age, and you mention it yourself. is it right that you can't play the guitar anymore? well, i can't play it the way i want to. i have a very bad arthritic finger on my right hand, on my ring finger. and when one of your fingers is immobilised practically, which it is, it doesn't bend properly, it's like your family, if you have a dysfunctional person in the family, everybody is out ofjoint. so i am playing more on the piano, which is why this album has so much piano. i play the piano much more easily than i do any other instrument, and that'll surprise the banjo players, i can find my way anywhere around the piano. 0n the banjo, i can't, i rarely go above the fifth fret on any of the instruments. i am sorry to disillusion you. but i am feeling a bit

hysterical, one o'clock in the morning, what am i doing, and i'm talking to mike embley. there is actual news around, and we have been reporting about the team are indulging me tonight. i spoke to another all—time musical favourite, eliza carthy, known for her songwriting, magical voice and fiddle playing all at the same time. eliza performing at the celtic conventions festival 2017. sadly our interview got cut short, we had to go to an ad break but she did later to record something a little something for us to enjoy. sorry i didn't get to finish the story but congratulations on your long service, and this is for you.

we will be free, and we could roll in bed low, when we meet again, how will i rise to face you? till that day, my arms will hold longing to embrace you. untilthen, good night my friend, good night my friends good night. untilthen friend, good night my friends good night. until then good night my friends good night, good night my friends good night.

what a way to go. eliza carthy singing you out. we have an embarrassment of riches and it is all a little surreal, this next clip is a surprise from my colleagues, this next clip is the first time i have seen this, let'sjust have the first time i have seen this, let's just have a look. hi mike, hello, it's robert plant air, and it is with great sadness that i reach out to you now to congratulate you on your long service, filling us up with all the information, all the news that fits, and you are actually on your way in a few days time which is a shame really because there are great moments ahead of us, perhaps something called lock—up, lockdown, sideways? i hope there will be a lot of celebrating, but especially for you that should be a lot of celebrating, you have been a great anchor and a character to

look to, and i can't say i have enjoyed everything you have told me about, but i wish you great success and the rest of your life and in the middle of the rest of my life too, but it seems to be the same thing over and overagain, seems to be the same thing over and over again, just a little bit different each time something good luck and congratulations on a great run. that was a real surprise, thank you so much to robert for that, and everybody else who has put all of this together. that's it from me, after quite a while, do stay with us, there is much more to come, much more interesting, useful and good stuff, and many fine people to bring it to you. thank you so much for watching.

hello there. most of us had a fine and dry day yesterday with some welcome sunshine. now, across quite widely the north and west of the country, temperatures are actually a little bit above average for the time of year. about 3 degrees above around the glasgow area. across eastern england, there were some areas a little bit on the cool side, for example, london. mainly because we had the wins come again from the relatively cool north sea around this area of high pressure. similar wind pattern on thursday, similar distribution of temperatures again across these north—western areas we will see some of the warmest weather. it's not particularly warm at the moment. indeed temperatures are dropping very quickly underneath these clear and starry skies. the wind is light, could bejust a few mist and fog patches, although probably not quite as many as we had this time yesterday. temperatures at the lowest, —3, —it celsius

or so across parts of north—east england. there will be quite a widespread frost first thing. so a frosty start to the day but a beautiful start as well with clear blue skies in many places. lots of sunshine on the cards. but as we head through the day, we are going to see some cloud build in, particularly across central and eastern england, and indeed a line of showers will develop across east anglia and south—east england, with some of them heavyish but i don't think there will be any thunderstorms around. the further north—west you are the clearest the skies will be. plenty of sunshine even into the afternoon, even for these areas. and it's here where we will see some of the highest temperatures again probably reaching around 15 degrees celsius. a little cooler than that across central and eastern areas of england. if anything, those temperatures down a little bit compared with wednesday's. for the end of the week, high pressure is still with us and that means another fine, frosty start to the day. plenty of sunshine, a little bit of cloud bubbling up

as we head into the afternoon. towards the north—west, you might find a little bit of slightly thicker cloud beginning to make inroads, but most of that's going to be quite high. just making the sunshine a little on the hazy side. so for many of us, after a cold start to the day, a bit of cloud bubbles up but essentially a fine day. for the weekend prospects, weather fronts are going to get pretty close to the northwest of the country. across most of england and wales were looking at this fine spell of weather to continue. probably of the two days, saturday looks like being the sunniest, but sunday is still not bad. further north—west, a bit more cloud around and across the far north—west of the uk through sunday, there is the threat of seeing a little bit of rain. that's your weather.

this is bbc news, the headlines: president biden has confirmed that the us will begin its final military withdrawal from afghanistan next month. mr biden said his goal was for the pull—out to be completed by the 20th anniversary of the september 11 terror attacks, and that it was time to end america's longest war. a white former policewoman in the us state of minnesota has been charged with manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a young black man following a confrontation at a traffic stop. kim potter resigned after the death of daunte wright, saying she had meant to draw her taser, not her handgun. british mps have rejected a labour proposalfor a parliamentary inquiry into lobbying, after the former prime minster, david cameron contacted ministers while working for the finance firm, greensill capital. the vote doesn't affect a review, led by a lawyer, already announced by the government.

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.