this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as america marks a year since the killing of george floyd by a white policeman, president biden says he's hopeful an agreement will be reached on police reform legislation. i'm barbara plett usher live in minneapolis. we are at george floyd square where events are under to mark the anniversary of his death. the us secretary of state pledges aid to rebuild gaza during his visit to the region. antony blinken says the "grave humanitarian situation" there must be tackled. more calls from world leaders for hard—hitting sanctions against belarus after a flight was forced to divert to minsk and a dissidentjournalist arrested. and exploring the origins of the covid crisis —

there's renewed speculation that the virus may have escaped from a chinese laboratory in wuhan. president biden has urged the us congress to pass a policing reform bill quickly in memory of george floyd. after meeting mr floyd's relatives at the white house exactly a year after he was killed by a white policeman, mr biden said both accountability and trust were needed in the justice system. our north america correspondent nick bryant sent this report from minneapolis. taking a knee in the place that george floyd was killed. a symbol of what's become a global struggle.

an act of remembrance that lasted nine minutes and 29 seconds — the duration of his murder. chanting: one, two, three, four! police violence no more! the march for racial justice must often seem like a never—ending journey, with milestones along the way but no end point in sight. chanting: george floyd, george floyd! _ that's certainly how it feels a year on from the murder of george floyd. protesters are angry they haven't seen more change. we are hunted in america just for being black, and that's not good. it's time for a change. i got a black boy, a son, a two—year—old. i shouldn't have to teach him to put his hands up when he sees the police. i'm marching because these are racially—motivated murders that this state and other states, the united states of america has committed against our people, and enough is enough. and i'm marching in solidarity with other families,

because their days of hurting our people and these racially—motivated murders are over with. policing is going to change... at a rally outside the courthouse where his murderer, derek chauvin, was found guilty, the floyd family's lawyer demanded landmark legislation. we must use this opportunity to get the george floyd justice _ in policing act passed, i so we can prevent some of these unnecessary, - preventable, unjustifiable, illegal and unconstitutional killings of our people! - tonight, the family met joe biden at the white house, but congress has failed to meet today's presidential deadline for police reform to be enacted. he's not happy about it not being met, but all in all, hejust wants the bill to be right and meaningful and that it holds george's legacy intact. let me hear your voice! change! change hasn't come fast enough for these modern—day

civil—rights protesters. black lives... ..matter! and on the first anniversary of george floyd's murder, the mantra of their movement sounds still like an anguished cry. black lives... ..matter! let's cross live to minneapolis to get more from our correspondent barbara plett usher. give us an idea of what we are expecting today.— give us an idea of what we are expecting today. give us an idea of what we are exectin: toda . ~ . ., , expecting today. what we have seen already today _ expecting today. what we have seen already today is _ expecting today. what we have seen already today is a _ expecting today. what we have seen already today is a street _ expecting today. what we have seen already today is a street party, - expecting today. what we have seen already today is a street party, a - already today is a street party, a street festival here at george floyd square. we are expecting a concert to start very soon close to us so if you hear a blast of noise, you will know what is going on. later on a candlelight vigil will be held in memory of george floyd. there were some activities and other areas as well that the mayor attended and

also george floyd's sister. and as nick was saying, there was the night and a half minute silence to mark the amount of time that george floyd's body was pinned to the ground. floyd's body was pinned to the round. ., . ., ,., floyd's body was pinned to the round. ., . ., ,. ~' floyd's body was pinned to the round. ., . ., ,., ~ .,, ground. how much do you think has chanced ground. how much do you think has changed since _ ground. how much do you think has changed since the _ ground. how much do you think has changed since the year— ground. how much do you think has changed since the year since - ground. how much do you think has| changed since the year since george floyd's killing? that changed since the year since george floyd's killing?— floyd's killing? that is a question i've been asking _ floyd's killing? that is a question i've been asking citizens - floyd's killing? that is a question i've been asking citizens and - i've been asking citizens and activists here in minneapolis. what i get very strongly from around this area anyway is that there is a strong sense of community solidarity. people who would not really being that activated before in justice issues but really being that activated before injustice issues but also in sort of being active in the community have been very galvanised. and there is a very positive spirit about that. there is also a much greater focus on racism nationally. you've got a different president in the white house, which is a big difference, and he has made racial justice and equality a big part of his platform. so as far as that goes, the tone and emphasis has changed in the white house as we saw

with a visit there by the family members of mr floyd. about the same time that crucial issue of policing reform and what to do about how americans are policed, especially americans are policed, especially americans of colour, there has not been a significant movement on that. there have been some changes made at the state level. rules for example banning the neck restraint that was used on george floyd, but not the kind of root and branch reform the activists had been demanding and that policing reform bill is still stuck in congress. and even that would not do enough, activists say. barbara and minneapolis there just on that point that she was making and thank you very much. we will talk a little later in the course of this hour to an expert about that whole question of police reform. do stay with us here on abc news. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, says america will make tens of millions of dollars available to the palestinians as it seeks to consolidate the ceasefire that ended the fighting between israel and hamas.

but after talks with palestinian leaders in the west bank, mr blinken said the hamas militants in gaza shouldn't benefit from aid going to the territory. here he was speaking earlier. i've heard a shared recognition from all sides that steps need to be taken, work needs to be done to address the underlying conditions that helped fuel this latest conflict. the cease—fire creates space to begin to take the steps. attending to the urgent humanitarian needs of palestinians in gaza and helping rebuild is a key starting point. the united states is committed to rallying international support to that effort and doing our part. that's why we announced additional assistance for the palestinian people today. but we all know that is not enough. as president biden has said, we believe that palestinians and israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely.

antony blinken is on a three—day trip to the middle east, where he'll also visit jordan and egypt. his trip started injerusalem, where he met israel's prime minister. the secretary of state reaffirmed that the us supports israel's right to defend itself, and benjamin netanuyahu's message was this. if hamas breaks the calm and attacks israel, our response will be very powerful. and we have discussed ways of how to work together to prevent hamas rearmament with the weapons and means of aggression. antony blinken then travelled to the west bank to meet the palestinian president. here he is with mahmoud abbas in ramallah. he leads the palestinian authority which runs the west bank. his rival, hamas, controls gaza. here's mr abbas. translation: we also thank the us l administration for its commitment l to a two—state solution _ and the maintenance of the status

quo injerusalem and to keep the residents ofjerusalem i and sheikhjarrah in their homes. and also we thank the us - administration for its position vis—a—vis the expansionist l settlements and the actions ta ken by settlers. i'm joined now by dr randa salim, a fellow at the foreign policy institute of the johns hopkins university. doctor, let me ask you first of all about the visit. i mean secretaries of state often go to israel, often go to the west bank but they are often clutching some kind of peace plan or some kind of document. mr blinken�*s visit seems to be notable by the absence of any such plan. correct. there is no vision right now with the biden administration

besides the cease—fire besides updating it and as mr blinken said working with other countries, the eu, regional powers like the uae, egypt, jordan, to help with reconstruction in gaza but also to provide assistance to palestinians living in the west bank. we provide assistance to palestinians living in the west bank.— living in the west bank. we had a eace living in the west bank. we had a peace preposal — living in the west bank. we had a peace proposal from _ living in the west bank. we had a peace proposal from president i peace proposalfrom president trump's son—in—law whispers an oblate now is not going anywhere. in the absence of any kind of agreement on an outcome, can the us government really influence the players in any effective way?— effective way? look, i think the recent negotiations _ effective way? look, i think the recent negotiations leading - effective way? look, i think the recent negotiations leading up. effective way? look, i think the | recent negotiations leading up to the cease—fire, which were led by president biden and his team, showed clearly that when the us still has leverage, at least on the israelis for sure and it still has influence to help achieve a cease—fire. however, this is an administration and this is a president who has

priorities from a primarily domestic priorities. he is looking at 2021 we have midterm elections and does not have midterm elections and does not have much time left to pass his domestic transformation agenda on the one hand and second this also a president who believes based on his experience as vice president during the obama administration that the political dynamics on the ground both in israel and among palestinians do not provide the conditions that enable a successful peace process to be launched. so any kind of investment in the peace process according to president biden would be a waste of time and resources. 50 would be a waste of time and resources-— would be a waste of time and resources. so two problems, i sunspose. _ resources. so two problems, i sunpose. one _ resources. so two problems, i suppose, one being _ resources. so two problems, i suppose, one being a - resources. so two problems, i suppose, one being a leader l resources. so two problems, i | suppose, one being a leader in resources. so two problems, i - suppose, one being a leader in the west bank who does not speak for gaza and his own democratic credentials are questionable as he is 17 years into his first four—year term, and a prime minister in israel

who is failed to win any of the last four general elections and is mired in a corruption trial. is or anything that needs changing? i notice in your writings that you speak about public opinion in the us perhaps shifting. yes. speak about public opinion in the us perhaps shifting-— perhaps shifting. yes, i think definitely _ perhaps shifting. yes, i think definitely public _ perhaps shifting. yes, i think definitely public opinion... i l perhaps shifting. yes, i think - definitely public opinion... i have been living here for a long time and i follow public been living here for a long time and ifollow public opinion been living here for a long time and i follow public opinion polls very closely when it comes to the arab region and polls have definitely shifted in favour of the palestinians and in favour of the us working to enable the palestinians to enjoy equal rights for israel and to enjoy equal rights for israel and to respect the human rights of palestinians. and you see it across the board. you see also among democrats in congress. give a split is in the party between the conservative democrats likejoe biden and the progressive democrats who are more calling for an activist us intervention in the conflict to

promote a more equitable resolution in favour of the palestinians. doctor, thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. thank ou. let's get some of the day's other news. the washington post is reporting that manhattan's district attorney has convened the grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict former president donald trump should prosecutors present the panel with criminal charges. it says the panel was convened recently and will sit for several months. the american wrestler—turned—actor john cena has apologised to china for calling taiwan a country. the controversy began when the fast and furious film star said taiwan would be the first country to be able to watch fast and furious 9 in an interview. beijing opposes the suggestion taiwan is an independent state. hong kong has warned it could have to throw away vast stores of coronavirus vaccines because of people's reluctance to have a jab. the slow take—up rate has been blamed on a relatively low number of infections and distrust

of the government. the united states has called on the world health organization to ensure transparency during the next phase of investigations into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. a series of media reports in the us suggest there's growing evidence that the virus emerged from a laboratory in wuhan rather than from animals. china has completely rejected the theory, and last month the who said it was unlikely. gary o'donoghue reports. last month, the world health organization issued a report on the origins of covid—i9, saying the chances of it having started in a lab were extremely unlikely. but questions have persisted, and reports attributed to us intelligence sources say three members of the wuhan virology institute were hospitalised in november 2019, several weeks before china acknowledged the first case of the new disease in the community. beijing has angrily rejected the reports, repeatedly suggesting

that the virus may have come from an american laboratory instead. speaking to the world health organization, javier becerra didn't mention china by name, but made it clear the us expected more rigour in the next stage of any investigation. phase two of the covid origin study must be launched with terms of reference that are transparent, science—based and give international experts the independence to fully assess the source of the virus and the early days of the outbreak. speculation about the wuhan lab has been enhanced by figures such asjoe biden's senior covid adviser, anthony fauci, who said recently he was not convinced that the virus had come from nature. publicly, intelligence figures have been saying they still don't know where, when or how the virus emerged, but were still investigating both possibilities. one distinct option, according to some scientists, is that a conclusive answer will never be found.

gary o'donoghue, bbc news, washington. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, more on the first anniversary of the death of the death of george floyd. what hope for change? music. in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored athletics events to aid famine relief in africa. the first of what the makers of star wars hope will be thousands of queues started filming at 7am. taunting which led to scuffles, scuffles to fighting, fighting to full—scale riot, as the liverpool fans broke out of their area and into the juventus enclosure. the belgian police had lost control. the whole world will mourn - the tragic death of mr nehru today. he was the father of the indian - people from the day of independence.

the oprah winfrey show comes to an end after 25 years and more than a500 episodes. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. geri halliwell, otherwise known as ginger spice, has announced she's left the spice girls. argh, i don't believe it! she's the one with the bounce, the girl power. not geri, why? this is bbc news. the latest headlines — president biden meets george floyd's relatives at the white house exactly a year after he was killed by a white policeman. he's urged congress to pass a policing reform bill quickly. let's get more now on our top story. dr rashawn ray is a fellow at the brookings institution and a professor at the university of maryland whose research focuses on racial inequality and police reform. he is with me now. thank you very much for being with us this hour.

let me ask you first of all about exactly that question, policing reform. the aspiration was to get it signed into law today. it is not going to happen because it is held up going to happen because it is held up in the senate. how important is police reform to this question of changing the racial perspective of the justice system?— changing the racial perspective of the justice system? the “ustice system? well, thank you for the justice system? well, thank you for havin: the justice system? well, thank you for having me _ the justice system? well, thank you for having me on. _ the justice system? well, thank you for having me on. i— the justice system? well, thank you for having me on. i mean, _ the justice system? well, thank you for having me on. i mean, is- for having me on. i mean, is essential. we start talking about police reform, it is the crux of how we often times think about race relations in the us. i make no mistake, the democrats realise that they have to be able to include qualified immunity if there is going to be real change. there is a lot of pushback on the republican side but we cannot simplyjust pushback on the republican side but we cannot simply just about reform was up with to think about really is transformation and reimagining was up transformation and reimagining was up and part of that includes not just addressing the systemic ways that racism plays out in policing but also to affect the culture of policing in the us. left but also to affect the culture of policing in the us.— but also to affect the culture of policing in the us. left it without ruestion policing in the us. left it without question you _

policing in the us. left it without question you raised _ policing in the us. left it without question you raised of _ policing in the us. left it without question you raised of qualified l question you raised of qualified immunity. how does that work and how does that impede in your view of the kind of perform —— reform agenda? qualified immunity in the us is a court doctrine that essentially prevents police officers and other government officials from facing any sort of financial liability. so in the us, what that means is the $27 million awarded to george floyd's family of the 12 million dollars awarded to breonna taylor's family in louisville, that money come from taxpayers. police officers are completely absolved from facing that penalty as our departments. with the public wants to see in over 50% of democrats in over 40% of republicans want to see this address so police officers can start to take some of the financial burden and hopefully that changes some of their behaviour.— that changes some of their behaviour. . �* , , behaviour. that's interesting because in — behaviour. that's interesting because in a _ behaviour. that's interesting because in a sense - behaviour. that's interesting because in a sense you - behaviour. that's interesting because in a sense you are l behaviour. that's interesting - because in a sense you are capturing through legislation that can never submit a people sometimes feel the

public officials don't do theirjob and then as you say if the taxpayer the ends up having to pay the millions of dollars in damages and all the rest of it. in the situation, nobody wants to be the victims in the first place but you think kind of changing that kind of work almost with the grain of public opinion and building a broader coalition to find reform might be one way to put some pressure on the politicians on capitol hill to get this legislation through. i politicians on capitol hill to get this legislation through.- this legislation through. i think so. this legislation through. i think so- change _ this legislation through. i think so. change often _ this legislation through. i think so. change often times - this legislation through. i think so. change often times comes| this legislation through. i think. so. change often times comes to washington, dc, it is not start with washington, dc, it is not start with washington so that public pressure has definitely mounted and democrats and republicans know they have to get to being done. democrats are behind the eight ball here. they did not make the one you're marking people want to see what immunity included in addition to other provisions like banning no knock warrants, banning choke holds and ensuring body worn cameras in creating some federal databases but qualified immunity is definitely a key here.

qualified immunity is definitely a ke here. ,, ., ., ,, ., key here. the senate did approve “ust key here. the senate did approve just tuesday _ key here. the senate did approve just tuesday actually _ key here. the senate did approve just tuesday actually a _ key here. the senate did approve just tuesday actually a few - key here. the senate did approve just tuesday actually a few hours| just tuesday actually a few hours after we were speaking the confirmation of kristin clark to lead to civil rights division of the justice department with the investigations on minneapolis and also louisville as well. they are under consideration by the department with louisville being where breonna taylor was killed in her own home. is that good news because the senate managed to get this agreement and because of the person she is do you think? i this agreement and because of the person she is do you think?- person she is do you think? i think most definitely. _ person she is do you think? i think most definitely. look, _ person she is do you think? i think most definitely. look, she - person she is do you think? i think most definitely. look, she is - person she is do you think? i think. most definitely. look, she is simply amazing at what she has done. her record speaks for itself. part of the reason why it is relevant to thinking about policing is obviously she is going to be controlling the civil rights division, the first but woman to be in that role and long overdue but part of thinking about this is the department ofjustice oftentimes hands—down what are called consent decrees. these are federal investigations of police departments when they have done things egregious like determination within the police department or use of force to someone for so this is

the reason why minneapolis and louisville are on the table here. what's important to know is that under donald trump, there were zero consent decrees. there were many under president obama and there were several under president bush before him and part of that record i think is one of the reasons why we are here also for the department of justice has a lot of work notjust involving use of force and police brutality in this conduct but also racial discrimination among police officers in the department and i think kristin clark is prime for the task. ., , ,., think kristin clark is prime for the task. ., , , .,, think kristin clark is prime for the task. ., ,,., , .,, ., think kristin clark is prime for the task. ., , task. professor, pleasure to speak to ou task. professor, pleasure to speak to you and — task. professor, pleasure to speak to you and thank _ task. professor, pleasure to speak to you and thank you _ task. professor, pleasure to speak to you and thank you very - task. professor, pleasure to speak to you and thank you very much i task. professor, pleasure to speak| to you and thank you very much for giving us your time and your analysis on this first anniversary of the killing of george floyd, thank you. of the killing of george floyd, thank you-— of the killing of george floyd, thank ou. ., ,, ., ., the exiled belarusian opposition leader has joined calls for further hard—hitting sanctions to isolate the regime of president lukashenko. it follows the international outcry after the arrest of the opposition journalist roman protasevich when a passenger plane was forced to land in belarus. he had been travelling with his girlfriend, sofia sapega,

who was also detained. in the last few hours, she has appeared in a confession video where she appears to be speaking under duress. at the white house earlier, the us press secretary outlined how the biden administration plans to address the situation. i will say that the president has asked his team to develop appropriate options in close coordination with the european union, our allies and other international organisations to help hold the lukashenko regime to account, including sanctions. our correspondent in sarah rainsford is in minsk, the capital of belarus, and explained what impact the international reaction is having. well, it's having one direct effect. we flew in from moscow, and that's now one of the few ways to get here, in fact. as you were mentioning there, eu airlines are cancelling flights here. the belarusian airline belavia is no longer flying to europe, and the airspace over this country is now pretty much closed, off—limits to european airlines, too. so, that's one direct change.

but in terms of the political reaction here to what's happening, well, there's been so far a pretty big shrug. belarus, the belarusian government is presenting itself essentially as a country that stepped in to save the day with that ryanair flight. they're saying that there was a real security threat on board and that the belarusian authorities offered a safe landing here in minsk. so, they're saying the fact that a very prominent wanted man, a very vocal critic of alexander lukashenko was on board that flight and then detained, well, as far as the belarusians are concerned here, that was pure coincidence. the most vocal critics, the most vocal opposition to the government here and to president alexander lukashenko is now outside the country, or if not, they're behind bars. ithink, you know, one of the really kind of clear things that i'm getting, and i've only been on the ground here again for a few hours this evening, but from people i'm speaking to already, you really get a sense, a fear here, people are nervous like they've never been before in all my

visits to this country. so, it's really changed here, the atmosphere has changed. people are telling us that they don't know who could be next. and before we go, a baby giraffe in an australian zoo has made an unlikely new friend, and they are closer than she may think. she seeing her shadow. how cute! yes, that's right, this giraffe has just discovered her own shadow. the yet—to—be—named calf has been curiously looking at the ground in recent days, trying to figure out what that dark thing on the ground is and why it seems to be following her. i get that feeling sometimes that i'm being followed. a reminder of our top story — as america marks a year since the killing of george floyd by a white policeman president biden says he's hopeful an agreement will be reached on police reform legislation.

stay with us on bbc news and don't forget more details on all the top stories are on our website. bye—bye for now. hello there. the bank holiday weekend is fast approaching, and we could all do with something a little more settled, couldn't we, to make outdoor plans. well, i can offer you certainly some drier weather over the next few days and into the weekend, and it will be warmer, too. now, just how warm, take a look at this. with the wind direction coming up from the south by the weekend, we could see temperatures peaking into the low 20s, and we've only seen that once so far this may. so, that's something to look forward to. during wednesday, however, this weather front will enhance some showers coming out of eastern scotland during the morning and sinking their way steadily south across north east england, down through the pennines, maybe into the east midlands, although weakening somewhat. behind, we could see a few scattered, sharp showers developing. one or two odd rumbles of thunder, as well, into scotland.

the best of the sunshine across wales, central and south west england, but the wind direction coming from the north, so a cool source. that means that temperatures still on the disappointing side. 12—14 degrees into the north. we could see 16—18 across parts of england and wales. so, moving towards thursday, a relatively dry start with some early morning sunshine. conditions will cloud over a little into the afternoon, but a ridge of high pressure is building keeping things largely quiet. winds light, and as a result, temperatures will be a degree or so higher, 18—19 degrees. there is a weather front for the start of friday. it's pushing in from the west, but it's a very weak affair. as it bumps into that high pressure, it will die away. so, there is the potential on friday of some light patchy rain perhaps into northern ireland, western fringes of scotland, the isle of man, let's say. and it will be quite cloudy, misty, murky, patchy mist and fog to higher ground here. but the best chance of seeing that cloud breaking up perhaps the south east,

east anglia, and temperatures will respond with highs of 20 degrees. that's going to feel very pleasant indeed. so, if you are thinking about heading to the coast for the bank holiday weekend, i don't think you'll be too disappointed. we can't rule out the risk of a few showers up into the north, but generally it'll be fine and warm. if you want something just that little bit warmer and you don't want to head towards the coast, stay inland. again, temperatures are likely to peak into the low 20s, very nice indeed. and after the miserable month of may, that will certainly be welcome news.

this is bbc news, the headlines... president biden has urged the us congress to pass a policing reform bill quickly, in memory of george floyd. he met mr floyd's relatives at a private meeting at the white house, exactly a year after he was killed by a white policeman. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, says he's held a productive day of meetings with israeli and palestinian leaders — and that both sides recognised the need to address the roots of their conflict. the white house has confirmed that belarus will be one of the topics up for discussion when president biden meets president putin next month in geneva. it will be the first time the two presidents have met sincejoe biden was elected. hong kong has warned it could have to throw away vast stores of coronavirus vaccines because of people's reluctance to have a jab. the slow take—up rate has been blamed on a relatively low number of infections and distrust of the government.