welcome to bbc news. i'm tim willcox. our top stories: another day of record infections and deaths in india. a special report on just how badly this crisis is affecting rural health facilities. a brazilian police operation against drug traffickers in rio ends with the deaths of 25 people. polls close across england, scotland and wales in super thursday — the biggest test of opinion since the uk general election of 2019. and us secretary of state antony blinken on a visit to kiev urges russia to end what he calls its reckless and aggressive actions towards ukraine.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. in the grip of the most brutal second wave india has seen yet another record rise in coronavirus infections — more than 400,000 new cases in less than 2a hours. but that figure is almost certainly an underestimate. the virus has spread from india's cities to the countryside, where hospitals are poorly equipped. 0ur correspondent yogita limaye has travelled to varanasi in uttar pradesh. and a warning, her report contains distressing footage and flashing images. in less than an hour, we saw 13 funerals here. the government says there were just seven in the whole day.

and this is prime minister modi's own constituency. the human cost is being suppressed. this is the reality all over india. we'll never know how many died of the virus in this country. india's hinterland is where most of its people live. amidst lockdowns in big cities, masses are returning to their homes in small towns and villages. the virus is spreading. rundown hospitals trying to cope with a crisis they have never been equipped for, conditions the government doesn't want people to see — so we filmed secretly. covid patients being treated amidst people with other illnesses, the sick being cared for by their own families for a lack of doctors.

this is the intensive care unit — we saw toilets overflowing on its floor. just outside, we met this man. "if she'd got the right medicines and treatment, she might have survived, but she didn't get it here." his wife was 35. this is the rural health centre she was first taken to, the only one for villages around. here they didn't discover she had covid until she became severely ill. there were no resources to treat her. i've asked each person standing in this queue what they are suffering from. most of them have told me it's fever or a cough, and they are waiting in line at a primary health centre, this is the first place that someone from the village would come to.

they are waiting for the doctor inside to tell them what is wrong with them. most of these people weren't tested for covid and haven't had the vaccine. we drove miles to reach the deceased woman's village. even getting to basic healthcare is out of reach for most here. her husband says their whole family had covid symptoms. she was the mother of two children. people here are angry. "the prime minister makes announcements on televisions, but nothing reaches us," a neighbour says. "there is little we can do," she says, "those who are lucky to survive, whoever has to die will die." yogita limaye, bbc news, uttar pradesh. well, as the pandemic continues to ravage india, there's growing pressure on richer countries to share their vaccine stockpiles with poorer nations. it's become a question

of global concern. will countries waive intellectual property protections for coronavirus vaccines? the us has backed a proposal to do so, a move welcomed by the director—general of the world trade organization. ngozi 0konjo—iweala says vaccine inequality must be overcome. what wto members are trying to negotiate is an appropriate and pragmatic agreement that will allow access to people in developing countries and poor countries, because it's not right to have the inequity of access that we have now. it's not right that of the 1.17 billion doses that have been administered worldwide, 83% is in rich and upper—middle income countries. so, something needs to be done about that. but i would say that wto members are negotiating. they need to negotiate to be able to come to the right solution that would be pragmatic and would allow companies to work with their technology and know—how and help to boost supplies.

so, i don't want to prejudge what that outcome of would be of the the negotiations, but it should be — i'm quite convinced — we can come up with an answer that will allow access to the volumes needed for poor countries whilst at the same time, reassuring manufacturers that research and development and innovation will be protected. we can now speak to dr krutika kuppalli, who's assistant professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the medical university of south carolina. welcome to bbc news. how much is india's misery linked to the fact that it spends just i% of gdp on its public health system, do you think? well, i thinkthat _ system, do you think? well, i think that the _ system, do you think? well, i think that the situation - system, do you think? well, i think that the situation in - think that the situation in india is extremely complicated

and it is notjust related to how much they spend on their public health, right? they have huge population density, difficult infection control situations and because of that population. and also, a problem with getting information out to people, particularly in some of the rural areas. it is a very difficult situation there right now. you know, we know this disease transmits because of close proximity, and it becomes a problem when you have people in such confined quarters. then we often need to try and get the message out to people about how to prevent the spread of this infection. unfortunately, because of relaxing some of these public health measures after the first wave, we found people go back to sort of their old behaviours. that is one of the reasons we are seeing this surge right now.— the reasons we are seeing this surge right now. talk about the sur: e. surge right now. talk about the surge- doctors _ surge right now. talk about the surge. doctors and _ surge right now. talk about the surge. doctors and consultants| surge. doctors and consultants we speak to on the ground say

that in reality, this could be 60 or 70% worse than the figures the government is putting out. do you agree with that? , ., a, , putting out. do you agree with that? , a, a, , that? yes, unfortunately. i have that? yes, unfortunately. i| have been talking to people that? yes, unfortunately. i- have been talking to people on the ground, and it really does sound like there is a vast underestimation of the number of cases being reported. there is a lack of testing and test, they have only been using pcr testing, there is a huge backlog in tests, and there is a stigma in testing positive and people are afraid to get tested. and also with the number of fatalities, people are dying very quickly and are having a hard time keeping up with the case numbers of people who are dying, and you are not even confirmed as having covid—i9 unless you have a positive test. so we know a lot

of people are getting tested, so how are they getting those record numbers? fix, so how are they getting those record numbers?— record numbers? a final question _ record numbers? a final question if— record numbers? a final question if we _ record numbers? a final question if we can, - record numbers? a final question if we can, on i record numbers? a final. question if we can, on this double mutation. are we sure that this is a double mutation here are linked to the second surge? and if so, how dangerous is that? ~ , ., ., is that? well, first of all, i want to — is that? well, first of all, i want to say _ is that? well, first of all, i want to say it _ is that? well, first of all, i want to say it is _ is that? well, first of all, i want to say it is not - is that? well, first of all, i want to say it is not a - is that? well, first of all, i i want to say it is not a double mutation, the strain known as the indian variant as many mutations, but two well—known mutations, but two well—known mutations that have been seen in some of the other variants we know about. that is a misnomer. and we don't really know where this variant is circulating, because genomic sequencing really needs to be ramped up in various parts of india. we know it has been detected in many parts of india places like maharashtra where it has been detected, but

certain parts of the b117 variant are driving the surge and in some areas, the other variants. and really we are flying blind right now. we need genomic testing to understand which variants are driving the surge in which areas.- surge in which areas. krutika koppalli. _ surge in which areas. krutika kuppalli, thank _ surge in which areas. krutika kuppalli, thank you - surge in which areas. krutika kuppalli, thank you so - surge in which areas. krutika kuppalli, thank you so much| surge in which areas. krutika i kuppalli, thank you so much for joining us hereon bbc news. —— here on. a police operation against drug traffickers in brazil has ended with the deaths of 25 people. it happened in one of rio de janeiro's poorest neighbourhoods, known as favelas. courtney bembridge has this report. and a warning: some of the details are distressing. as police swooped in helicopters and armoured vehicles, suspects could be seen trying to escape across the rooftops. some of them armed with high—powered weapons. down on the street level, police were closing in. 0fficers described it as a "war scenario". it's the deadliest police operation since 2016.

here's the account of one resident, who says an injured boy came into her home. translation: when the police saw the blood, they came - in screaming, "where is he, where is he?" ijust had time to put my children here behind me, and they killed the boy in the room. they didn't give the boy time to say anything. my only reaction was to protect my family. my nine—year—old daughter saw everything. she will never want to sleep in that room again. scenes like this have become much less common after a supreme court order lastjune outlawing raids during the coronavirus pandemic, unless they're deemed essential. these are some of the weapons that were seized. police say the gang is involved in drug trafficking, robbery, assaults, murder, and hijacking subway trains. residents took to the streets to protest, accusing the police of using excessive force. the're calling for peace and justice. human rights activists say it's not clear whether all

of the people killed were suspects, and say some could have been residents caught in the crossfire. police say they launched the raid after concrete intelligence that drug traffickers were recruiting children. but one sociology professor from the laboratory for the analysis of violence has told a brazilian newspaper: the number of shoot—out deaths in favelas has dropped by 70% since the supreme court ruling, but there was no corresponding spike in crime. murders were down by almost 50%. courtney bembridge, bbc news. it's been described as �*super thursday', the most important set of elections since prime minister borisjohnson�*s landslide victory 18 months ago.

the people of scotland and wales are voting for a new government and there are local elections taking place, too. much of the early focus will be on hartlepool in the north—east of england, where a new member of parliament is being chosen. that is where we will get the first results from. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth is there. this is where those will be counted, and the sheer number of politicians and journalists that have descended on the town in the last weeks, it's a sign of what is at stake, and there are nerves about the outcome tonight, because of course this is a test for the conservatives as to whether they can have the support they won in the general reaction in 2019 was a 1—off, something driven by brexit, or something driven by brexit, or something they can sustain. 0f something they can sustain. of course, for labour, if they lose here, a seat they have had for decades, that would be

significant. difficult questions the keir starmer, a man who has promised to revive the party's fortunes, but also deeper questions about the party's direction, and about hartlepool, whether their promises from politicians have come to fruition. here, the ballot boxes are coming in, they will be counted in the morning, and an early indication of the mood of the public and an indication whether these traditional party ties are still holding, or whether they are continuing to fray. alex forsyth. we will give you that result live in a couple of hours' time. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: a way to cheaper covid tests? scientists in the netherlands think they might have found a solution. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays,

the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. the tunnel is not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and i islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. - roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in underfour minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated i to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. -

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: another day of record infections and deaths in india. the crisis is now spreading from the towns and cities and affecting rural health facilities. a brazilian police operation against drug traffickers in rio has ended with the deaths of 25 people. us secretary of state, antony blinken, has urged russia to end what he called its reckless and aggressive actions towards ukraine. speaking at talks in kyiv, mr blinken said the us is looking at increasing security assistance to the country. last month russia amassed 100,000 troops on ukraine's borders, the biggest mobilisation since moscow seized crimea in 2014. those forces have begun to withdraw, but significant numbers remain. moscow also continues to back a pro—russian insurgency in ukraine's eastern region where more than 13,000 people have been killed, according to the united nations.

president zelenskiy wants the us to back ukraine's bid for nato membership but washington says the country needs to tackle corruption. but it's understood that secretary blinken assured president zelensky that the us stands with ukraine. of course ukraine was tested again just weeks ago this spring as russia pushed more forces to the ukrainian border than at any time since 2014 when it invaded. i can tell you, mr president, that we stand strongly with you, partners do as well. i heard the same thing when i was at nato a couple of weeks ago, and we look to russia to cease reckless and aggressive actions. we will continue to strengthen our security partnership and close collaboration with you to make sure that ukraine can defend itself against aggression.

well earlier i spoke tojohn herbst who's a former us ambassador to ukraine and now director of the eurasia center at the atlantic council. i asked him whether any good will come from us secretary of state anthony blinken�*s ramped up rhetoric. it's really very simple, moscow is right now conducting a war against the ukraine after occupying crimea. the war in dunbas is led by russian officers with russian equipment and russian money. american support for ukraine's says first to russia that we will provide initial sanctions on you if you escalate aggression in the war in the ukrainian east. and also we will send ukraine weapons and they will be able to better defend themselves and more russian soldiers will die. that is a political problem for putin because he is lying to his people and saying russian officers are not fighting in dunbas. the problem is russian aggression. america is helping to make sure that russian aggression is protected

for president zelensky. i was there in 2014 and 2015 so much i am aware of the geography of the situation. isn't the problem now though that with this rhetoric, it has got to be followed through. if you're going to have red lines then they need to be kept, and initially just a few weeks agojoe biden diverted two warships to the region and then pulled back. what impact does that have on somebody like vladimir putin? i think you're right, that was a mistake. the biden administration has handled this current crisis reasonably well with that as a single bad step. while the russians noticed the destroyers enter the black sea i believe british destroyers did they talked about additional sanctions on washington and is talking about additional weapons to the ukraine

so we sent several messages and all but that was good, but you're right that was a serious mistake. and if more weapons are sold to the ukraine and there was an agreement by the united states to accept ukraine into nato, or certainly sponsor that, what do you think the response would be from russia? well, first while the united states in a general way supports ukrainian membership in nato, it understands that nato is not yet ready to agree to membership for the ukraine. but i have little doubt that if ukraine were to enter nato, moscow would decide that ukraine was too difficult a challenge with military aggression. and again, they seized crimea with russian soldiers who are identified. they are fighting a hybrid war, so—called hybrid war, in donbas. perhaps the greatest strategist in ukraine says that ukraine must enter nato because that is the only way russia will leave them alone. i wish he was wrong about that but he has a point.

john herbst for us there. despite the global vaccination programme, tracking and testing are still vital tools in the fight against coronavirus. accurate data is key and speed is of the essence. now a team of researchers in the netherlands have come up with a novel way to find the virus, relying on the smallest of detectives. the fight against covid—19 can take many different forms stop this, one of the more unusual. honeybees with their amazing sense of smell scientist almost buzzing with excitement. dutch researchers strapping the insects into little bee harnesses and presenting them with negative and positive coronavirus samples. every positive sample was followed by a dose of sugar water, teaching them to quickly identify covid—19. 50 water, teaching them to quickly identify covid-19.— identify covid-19. so in the end the bees _ identify covid-19. so in the end the bees extended - identify covid-19. so in the | end the bees extended their proposes after being presented a coronavirus positive sample, and in that way we can train

them pretty quickly. accurate conventional _ them pretty quickly. accurate conventional tests _ them pretty quickly. accurate conventional tests can - them pretty quickly. accurate conventional tests can take . conventional tests can take hours or even days to give a result, with the bees, the response was almost immediate. it is cheap too. but not everybody is convinced bee detection is the best way forward. translation: it is a aood forward. translation: it is a good idea _ forward. translation: it is a good idea but _ forward. translation: it is a good idea but i _ forward. translation: it is a good idea but i would - forward. translation: it is a good idea but i would prefer. forward. translation: it is a | good idea but i would prefer to carry out tests using the classic diagnostic tools rather than using honeybees. i am a huge bee lover but i would use them for other purposes than detecting covid—19. this them for other purposes than detecting covid-19.— them for other purposes than detecting covid-19. this is not entirely unprecedented. - detecting covid-19. this is not entirely unprecedented. in - detecting covid-19. this is notj entirely unprecedented. in the past, bees and wasps have been used to detect explosives and toxins, but in areas where other testing material isn't available, bees may prove vital. to be or not to be, that is the question. tim allman, bbc news. the old ones are always the best... usually. the former president of the

maldives has been injured in the capital. his supporters say at the bus took place as he was about to get into a car parking to a narrow lane. the current speaker of the parliament has been taken to hospital and is understood to have had surgery. the makers of the pfizer bio entech vaccine have agreed to supply theirjab to all olympians and associates at the paralympic games. they start in july but although it's not mandatory to have the vaccine, the international community is encouraging all the athletes to have a jab ahead of the games. in south africa, mourners have been gathering at the palace of queen mantfombi dlamini zulu, who died last week in johannesburg. the burial will take place privately in the next few hours. her family has not announced the cause of death, and a decision on who will now lead the zulu kingdom is expected after the queen's funeral. the bbc�*s nomsa maseko reports. (singing)

queen mantfombi dlamini zulu's homecoming. the zulu say (speaks zulu). loosely translated means �*the queen's sun has set.�* speaks zulu. the 65—year—old's due to be buried on thursday at a private ceremony near the royal palace. the burial will be followed by a state funded memorial on friday. the queen's death has brought fresh tension over succession in the zulu monarchy. factions within the royal family have brought a legal challenge to hold the naming of a successor after questioning the authenticity of the late king goodwill zwelithini's will,

who died in march. but elders in the royal family believe this can be resolved amicably. we're not different from other human beings. people arrive in peace. we are no different, we are the same. we are all homo sapiens species like other human species. and actually we will act like other human beings when we sort out our problems. the next zulu monarch will be chosen from one of the late king's 28 children, and his first task will be to reunite the divided family. nomsa maseko bbc news. plenty more on that story and indeed all of the others on the website. if you are watching in the uk, go to the uk website.

backin the uk, go to the uk website. back in a minute with more headlines. see you then. hello there. thursday brought another rash of showers, some significant snow to some parts of scotland. it's still cold air with us for the day ahead, so it will be a chilly start, and there will be further snow showers over the hills of scotland. but as we've gone through the evening and overnight, the showers have tended to fade away. we had a lot of hail and thunder in eastern areas, but under the starry skies once again, because it's cold air, temperatures approach freezing — a little below — and given there is some dampness on the surfaces, it could be a bit icy in a few spots. perhaps a little bit of river mist as well. but an abundance of sunshine first thing. the showers already with us in some areas, as you can see, become more widespread as the morning goes on.

initially, across many parts of england and wales developing across scotland, one or two for northern ireland, but then congregating on the east into the afternoon. hail and thunder and snow over the hills. so, again, chilly, but temperatures probably a little bit higher than yesterday, up to 15 perhaps in the south. but then, it's all change as we go through the coming night and into saturday. we've got the next weather system coming in, so the frost won't be as widespread by saturday morning. more limited to the far northeast of scotland, which is where we probably won't get the milder air in. it's this deep area of low pressure that's pulling itself in off the atlantic, giving us all, really, a spell of wetter weather. looks quite wet in western areas, and given we've got the south—westerly wind coming in off the atlantic, it is bringing much milder air in, which means a lot of rain potentially across south—west england, wales, into the north of england. you can see a wetter day for northern ireland and much of scotland. it may actually dry up and brighten up in south—eastern areas later. the rain may not actually reach the far north of scotland, and the milder air slow to arrive here, perhaps some wintriness on the hills. but we could see 16 or 17 if it brightens up in the south. through the night, that weather front�*s dragging its heels,

really slow to move its way eastwards. we've got one band of rain moving up towards the north of scotland, showers following in behind. still the south—westerly wind into sunday, so still mild, but with plenty of showers merging together across north and west areas near the centre of the area of low pressure. it will be windy through the weekend as well, but we could see 20—22 celsius and possibly some late afternoon thunderstorms in south—eastern areas. quite a lot of uncertainty on the detailfor sunday, but it does look a very unsettled weekend ahead. you can get more from the website.

this is bbc news. the headlines: india has once again reported a record number of cases and deaths. a new variant of coronavirus discovered in india in march may be linked to the massive surge — after the big cities rural health facilities across the country are coming under increasing pressure. police in brazilian city of rio dejaneiro have defended their operation against drug traffickers in which at least 25 people died. officers said that the action had been planned for almost a year after they had received information that criminal gangs had been recruiting children and minors. polls in britain have closed for elections to the devolved parliaments in scotland and wales, and to local government authorities in england. a parliamentary seat in hartlepool in north—east england is also being contested. win in a traditional labour stronghold. we are expecting the results of those votes in a few hours.

now on bbc news: three days that shook football.