welcome to bbc news — i'm ben boulos — our top stories... president biden urges congress to approve a policing reform bill, in memory of george floyd — after meeting his relatives on the first anniversary of his murder. all in all, he just wants the bill to be right and meaningful and that it holds george's legacy intact. the us secretary of state pledges aid to rebuild gaza during his visit to the region — but says israelis and palestinians, must address the root cause of their conflict. world leaders call for hard hitting sanctions against belarus — after a flight was forced to divert to minsk — and a dissidentjournalist arrested. and — for the first time in 3,000 years, tasmanian devils are born in the wild — on the australian mainland.

hello and welcome to the programme. 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. 0ur north america correspondent, nick bryant, reports 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 endpoint 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, he just 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! joining me now is lumumba akinwole bandele — a civil rights activist and organizer with the malcolm x grassroots movement it's good to have you with us. one year on from the murder of george floyd, how different does america feel to you today? you know, america does not feel much different other than the amount of activation that our communities are expressing but the reality is in terms of the way law enforcement continues to interact with our communities has not changed. so we know that we are in a space now where we can actually capitalise on this and begin to make some substantial changes for right now, things have not changed. for right now, things have not chanced. ~ ., , ., , changed. when individual states have managed _ changed. when individual states have managed to _ changed. when individual states have managed to pass _ have managed to pass legislation, some 17 states have passed legislation within the year, to ban or restrict

the year, to ban or restrict the use of choke holds and neck restraints by police officers, why do you think that hasn't yet been achieved at federal level? ~ ~ �* , ., level? well, i think there's a number of — level? well, i think there's a number of factors _ level? well, i think there's a number of factors as - level? well, i think there's a number of factors as to - level? well, i think there's a number of factors as to why | number of factors as to why what hasn't been achieved at federal level but it's important to note also in the states where those chuckles have been banned, they haven't prevented loss of life, new york city, for example, it's been against police policy, but it did not result in preventing the loss of life of eric garner so we know those particular things have not been working so we need more.— we need more. then there's the very contentious _ we need more. then there's the very contentious issue - we need more. then there's the very contentious issue of - very contentious issue of qualified immunity for police officers which prevents officers which prevents officers from being personally sued by victims and their families for alleged civil rights violations. what do you think causes that to be such a sticking point?— think causes that to be such a sticking point? well, you know, i think for— sticking point? well, you know, i think for the _ sticking point? well, you know, i think for the first _ sticking point? well, you know, i think for the first time - sticking point? well, you know, i think for the first time now - i think for the first time now we are seeing the vulnerability

of law enforcement. they are now feeling the pressure in a way they have never felt before. just this past year, over 25 million people protested police misconduct, harassment, brutality, that's the first time in history that has happened and law enforcement communities are not feeling it but understand also, the law enforcement community is the only segment in our country that is able to act free from any kind of accountability. health professional have ways of being held accountable. you have any other kind of profession that actually has institutionalised ways of holding their professions to a very particular standard, except law enforcement, and so the idea of qualified immunity being challenged, scares law enforcement but we are way past for that, enforcement but we are way past forthat, it enforcement but we are way past for that, it needs to happen, it's just one of the many things that needs to happen.

essentially, many of our communities, we are trying to reframe population actually needs to look like in our communities and what we are saying actually, as we really need to restructure what safety looks like. need to restructure what safety looks like-— looks like. briefly, the level of activism _ looks like. briefly, the level of activism and _ looks like. briefly, the level of activism and protest - looks like. briefly, the level of activism and protest that| looks like. briefly, the level i of activism and protest that we have seen in the past year is quite extraordinary. do you feel this is perhaps a decade we are going into that when we look back on, like the 1960s are looked back on, as a turning point? absolutely, no question- _ turning point? absolutely, no question. we _ turning point? absolutely, no question. we first _ turning point? absolutely, no question. we first saw- turning point? absolutely, no question. we first saw signs i turning point? absolutely, no| question. we first saw signs of this in 2014 after the murders of eric garner, and michael brown. this is in that trajectory. what we know also is that law enforcement throughout this country has not put anything in its place to prevent loss of life so we know there will be no uprisings. —— more uprisings. law enforcement will continue to do what they have historically done, wejust take our lives but our communities will continue to

fight and defend ourselves however we can.— fight and defend ourselves however we can. thank you for s-ueakin however we can. thank you for speaking to — however we can. thank you for speaking to us. _ 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. 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 ceasefire creates space to begin to take those 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 administration - for its commitment to a two—state solution i and the maintenance - of the status quo injerusalem and to keep the residents ofjerusalem and sheikhl jarrah in their homes. and also we thank the us - administration for its position vis—a—vis the expansion - of settlements and the actions ta ken by settlers. earlier, i spoke tojonathan schanzer, the senior vice president for research at the foundation for defense of democracies. he says it's proving difficult for the region to trust the biden administration at the moment. i think they are trying to reassure the region that the united states is still in charge although it's hard i think for the region to trust this administration right now, really, for two reasons — one, this administration has already stated very bluntly it plans to pivot away

from the middle east, to spend less time on problems where there a re very clear a nswe i’s. certainly, with the united states now having to deal with a very great power competition, china, that is a fait accompli. the other thing that the region is watching very nervously for is of course the us decision to re—enter the iran nuclear deal, when that happens, groups like hamas will be flush with cash because iran is the primary patron and of course it won't only be hamas, it will be other terrorist groups as well so certainly i welcome these efforts to try to calm some jittery nerves but i think there are greater challenges that certainly await them. and that is the crux of it, isn't it? it is one thing to quell the fighting and bring about a temporary cessation of hostilities. it is quite another to establish a lasting resolution to a long—standing problem and what hope is there of that when the two sides, on the israeli side, you have a prime minister who election after election,

cannot secure a majority in parliament and on the palestinian side, you have mahmoud abbas who does not speak for the political control in gaza? and i would even argue hamas barely speaks for the people in the west bank, he is now 16 years into a four—year term with no elections in sight so you have two leaders that have been in powerfor quite a long time, they don't like each other, they really don't have a lot of interest in talking right now. i would probably add though that the israelis have put on the table a number of peace agreements that have been rejected by the palestinians over the years but even that said, we are not going to be able to get anywhere, i think, until we have new leaders on the scene, there will probably be a fifth round of elections in israel where mr netanyahu will be put to the test. do you think someone else needs to get involved now in order for this process to have credibility and hope of reaching some kind of resolution?

i actually think the real answer to all of this is really trying to address the issue of the palestinian divide. you mentioned that there are two different sovereigns, if you will, in the west bank and gaza strip. this dates back to a civil war that erupted amongst the palestinians in 2007. the two territories have remained under the control of two different governments, and they are at odds with one another, the animosity is very clear. it is impossible to have a two state solution so long as the palestinians themselves are hopelessly divided and there really does not appear to be an easy answer to that. i would very much welcome some kind of mediation, i don't think the united states can do it because here in the us, we don't recognise hamas and cannot engage because they are a terrorist organisation but there could be other intermediaries that could certainly try to help this internecine conflict be solved. stay with us on bbc news, still to come:

we'll show you the tasmanian devils born — in the wild — on the australian mainland for the first time in 3,000 years.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines... president biden has urged the us congress to pass a policing reform bill quickly, in memory of george floyd. the president met family members exactly a year after mr floyd was killed by a white policeman. the us secretary of state has pledged aid to rebuild gaza during his visit to the region — but said israelis and palestinians must address the root cause of their conflict. the us has called on the world health organisation to ensure transparency during the next phase of investigations into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. this comes as 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. joining me to discuss this is jamie metzl, who served in president 0bama's national security council, and is a member of the world health organisation s expert advisory committee. very good to have you with this. what has prompted these new suggestions, or i suppose the resurfacing of the suggestions that the virus may have come from a laboratory in wuhan? ~ . ., ., , ., have come from a laboratory in wuhan? . ., ., ., wuhan? we are almost a year and a half from _ wuhan? we are almost a year and a half from the _ wuhan? we are almost a year and a half from the outbreak - wuhan? we are almost a year and a half from the outbreak and - a half from the outbreak and there is almost no evidence that the pandemic began with a zoonoticjump in the wild but there is increasingly strong circumstantial evidence suggesting the very real possibility that the pandemic stems from an accidental

laboratory lake and as this circumstantial evidence grows, you mentioned what you call the who investigation, ithink you mentioned what you call the who investigation, i think your viewers would be shocked to learn there has been no who investigation, as a matter of fact today there is no international investigation into the origins of the pandemic and from day one, china has been engaged in a massive cover and i think the rest of the world is making a statement, enough is enough. as the evidence for the laboratory leak hypothesis grows, and we all are and should be demanding the kind of full investigation of all origin hypotheses that is required. of all origin hypotheses that is required-— is required. you say there's been no — is required. you say there's been no who _ is required. you say there's| been no who investigation, is required. you say there's - been no who investigation, we are actually seeing the investigation of the time who investigators went to wuhan to try and establish this and i remember my colleagues were trying to shout to get questions across and they were prevented from doing so so in what sense was that not an investigation? it what sense was that not an investigation?— what sense was that not an investigation? it was built not the who and _

investigation? it was built not the who and it _ investigation? it was built not the who and it wasn't - investigation? it was built not the who and it wasn't an - the who and it wasn't an investigation, the entity that you are referring to was an independent committee organised, partly organised by the who in conjunction with their chinese counterparts and actually, the who director—general has made abundantly clear in his statements, he keeps saying this is not the who and jet media around the world are reporting this as the who, incorrectly. it wasn't an investigation, the head of this international committee engaged international committee engaged in thisjoint study international committee engaged in this joint study has been completely clear this is not an investigation, they didn't have the mandate, the skills, the access, there was this international group, they went on a two—week, highly chaperoned, controlled study visit to wuhan and really, didn't have any ability to draw the conclusions which they did say, correctly, this group did

say, correctly, this group did say the animal origin was likely, a lab incident was unlikely but then, the claim was immediately rejected and it's probably the first time it's probably the first time it's ever happened in the history of the world health organization. if history of the world health organization.— organization. if there were very limited _ organization. if there were very limited means - organization. if there were very limited means of - organization. if there were l very limited means of access actually to that initial group that went to investigate what hope is there full and full and transparent and cooperative scenario for another investigation to take place to actually establish where the virus came from?— actually establish where the virus came from? first, we need to establish _ virus came from? first, we need to establish that _ virus came from? first, we need to establish that is _ virus came from? first, we need to establish that is what - virus came from? first, we need to establish that is what is - to establish that is what is required and the world health assembly is meeting now, representatives of governments are meeting and the world health assembly should be demanding the kind of full investigation that is required. then, the question is will china continue its ongoing cover—up or will china open up? i certainly hope that china will end its practice for the last almost a year it's been been destroying samples, hiding records, imprisoning citizen journalists, it has a universal

939 journalists, it has a universal gag order preventing scientists from speaking or writing anything about covid origins without government approval and it would be great if china were to open up. it's not very likely that that is going to happen. if china still refuses then the other countries in the world need to come together and do the best investigation we can with the resources we have. there are a lot of resources that can be accessed from outside of china, is that as good as having full access in china? 0bviously good as having full access in china? obviously not. but it's better to do that than nothing. we must leave it there. thank you. 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. 0ur 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. there have been scuffles between police and protestors in a number of cities in argentina in demonstrations against new lockdown laws. in the capital buenos aires, thousands of people banged pots and pans and waved flags to protest at alberto fernandez�*s handling of the pandemic. argentina has been hit by a severe second wave. schools and non—essential shops will be closed and social, religious and sporting events have been banned. tazmanian devils have been born in the wild in australia's mainland for the first time in 3,000 years. it's a big milestone for this endangered species as the bbc�*s azaday moshiri reports. the tasmanian devil. it's thought they were wiped out from australia's mainland long ago, so conservationists reintroduced 26 adults into a large sanctuary north of sydney, hoping

to bring them back. and now, for the first time in 3,000 years, new tasmanian devils have been born in the pouch in the wild in australia's mainland. ten years ago, we started with 44 founder devils and we've now had over 450 joeys. we've been able to historically, albeit in its infancy, return the devil to mainland, and today is another milestone entirely. they get their name from their ferocity when they fight over food. hard to imagine, though, since these creatures are so — well, cute. there is so much at stake here. we've done everything we can, but if the devils don't breed, it's all over. they're still an endangered species, but with a bit more mating, these devils are one step closer to redemption. azadeh moshiri, bbc news.

the american wrestler— turned—actor, john cena, has apologised to his chinese fans after referring to taiwan as a country. speaking in chinese, he posted a video on a social media platform in china saying he'd made a mistake. taiwan is a self—governing island that china considers its own and reacts angrily to anything that suggests otherwise. the latest instalment of the film franchise fast and furious — in whichjohn cena stars — has just opened in china, which perhaps explains why he's been so quick to apologise. and finally, we leave you with an adrenaline boost. spain's bienvenido aguado has landed the biggest dirt to dirt frontflip in history at the darkfest 2021, the mountain biking event held this year in south africa — he jumped 30 metres. the previous record was at 21. here are some of the otherjumps of these incredible riders.

you don't need me to tell you but do not try this at home! 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. the president met family members exactly a year after mr floyd was killed by a white policeman. mr floyd's family have expressed disappointment that the bill has not yet been approved. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has stressed that a two state solution — establishing a palestinian state alongside israel — was the only option for lasting peace in the region. he was speaking after holding talks with israeli and palestinian leaders. the un human rights watchdog has demanded the immediate release of the journalist, roman protasevich, by the authorities in belarus. it said the manner in which he was detained — after a plane was forced to land in minsk — was "tantamount to extraordinary rendition."

now on bbc news — our world and just a warning this