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 programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting. afghanistan is in the grip of a new and sinister campaign of violence. young professionals are being deliberately targeted and murdered. it is suspected that the killings are the work of insurgent groups like the taliban and is, who are targeting people, often women, trying to build their country based on democratic values.

this year, the united states will withdraw its troops. peace talks have so far failed to reach an agreement and the government accuses the taliban of using violence as leverage, but the taliban deny involvement. the fear is that if these targeted killings continue, the democratic gains of the last 20 years could all be lost. this school, for children with learning difficulties, was born out of tragedy. it was opened in the name of fatima �*natasha' khalil, a human rights activist. aged 2a, she was

targeted and killed. natasha was born in pakistan. one of seven children. the family were refugees, fleeing taliban violence during afg hanistan�*s civil war. announcer: khalil, fatima. cheering. natasha spoke six languages, and after graduating with a double degree from university in kyrgyzstan, she returned to afghanistan

to decide on a career. all the time, her ambitions was that she wants to work somewhere in a war zone. and then i would always tell her, well come home, you don't have to go somewhere else. her big goal, of course, were that she wanted to be the secretary general of the un. she was the youngest so we were the least worried about her. this was herfirstjob. she was just there to start her life.

she was so excited. she would always say, lima, this is the real thing, this is real life. at 7:30, on the morning she was killed, natasha was picked up by a government car to go to work. within minutes of leaving the house, a bomb attached to the car exploded. both she and her driver, ahmad jawid folad, were killed.

natasha's killing is part of a chilling new tactic by insurgents who identify and target individuals for murder. the victims are all people working to rebuild the country after decades of violence. they are often young and women. they are the generation of social media, they are the generation of internet. they are educated. they don't know how to not be connected to the world.

this new generation whose life is like going outside, wearing whatever they want to wear and saying what they have on their mind. but the targeted killings have shocked and frightened many of them. just months before natasha was killed, in the gulf state of qatar, the united states had been talking to the taliban. as we speak, the united states is also working to end the war in afghanistan and we are bringing our troops home. artillery.

after 20 years of fighting the taliban in afghanistan, by now america's longest war, both the us and the taliban wanted american troops out. with the afghan government excluded, the us and the taliban struck a deal with each other on the terms of withdrawal. the taliban promised to reduce violence, not to attack us troops and to start talking to the afghan government. mike pompeo: first, keep your promises. | in exchange, the americans promised to get taliban prisoners released and crucially committed to pulling out all their soldiers 14 months later, on may the 1st 2021. that deadline would define the year ahead. helmand is the largest province in afghanistan. it was the site of the most amount of fighting

between the taliban, and american and british troops. it remains a taliban stronghold. elias daei was an award—winning reporter for radio free europe, well known for his bravery. aged 14 when american troops arrived, he was 33 when he was killed. on the morning of his death, elias was travelling in the capital lashkargah when a bomb attached to his car exploded.

elias lived with three generations of his family. the youngest, his two—year—old daughter. her name meant kindness. as part of the us—taliban deal, the taliban had committed to reducing violence. in the weeks leading up to his death, elias reported on a new taliban offensive in helmand. soon after, his house was searched and the day before he was killed, he sent a text to a colleague believing his life was in danger.

elias is one of 12 journalists individually identified, targeted and killed since the us taliban deal of february 2020. journalists are the eyes and ears of people. they are the voice of people. ruling powers are always very uneasy and uncomfortable with this, particularly despotic regimes. like the taliban, for example, who didn't even allow tvs back in the days when they were ruling. so, silencing journalism is

silencing the whole population. but elias would not be silenced. no—one has claimed responsibility for elias�*s killing. the taliban deny involvement. most targeted killings go unclaimed by any group. unknown armament is the phrase being used but my understanding is that there is a lot of indication that the taliban are party to these assassinations.

there is also an indication that there are additional groups that are also a part of it. anisa shaheed is a famous tv journalist working for the popular t0 l0news channel. she witnesses violence on a daily basis.

despite losing colleagues to targeted killings, anisa and her fellow journalists continue to work. they are uncertain exactly who is behind the attacks.

back in doha, the taliban and afghan government had started direct talks — one of the commitments in the us taliban deal. there is one priority for me as an afghan and that is really to see any effort through non—violent means that can end this current bloodshed and this current armed conflict. my personal view, not representing even my family because ijust don't want their life to be in danger. ijust have this problem even calling this process a peace process because it's not a peace process, it'sjust

a political settlement between the strongmen. a peace process would mean healing, transitionaljustice and listening to the victims, and nothing like that is happening. farahnaz forotan was at the talks, reporting for itv, a news channel in kabul. she is well known as an activist in helmand and has a social media campaign called myredline. she travelled the country asking people what they could and could not accept in a peace deal — their red lines.

at the talks in doha, farahnaz interviewed a member of the taliban, she was not wearing a veil and this attracted a lot of media attention. two months later, she got a call saying she was on a hit—list, her life was in danger. she's now living in the united states.

like dozens of young professionals fearing they could be targeted, she left afghanistan but it was not an easy decision. at the start of the year, a new american president took office. preserve, protect and defend...

...the constitution of the united states. ...the constitution of the united states. so help you god. so help me god. congratulations mr president. the question on everyone's mind was with no political solution in sight, would the new president stick to the may one deadline to withdraw troops? meanwhile, in afghanistan, three television interpreters were killed in the capital jalalabad, the capital of nangarhar, which suffered the worst of the surge in targeted killings. within days of each other, three health workers, a doctor and a police officer were also killed. they were all women. nangarhar had already suffered the loss of malala maiwand, a well—known presenter at enikas tv. she was a role model for young women who wrote her fan mail.

the attack on malala was claimed by the so—called islamic state. in her murder, afghanistan lost another person standing up for women's rights, and a family lost a loved one.

the white house has now announced the withdrawal of troops will be delayed by six months to the symbolic date of september 11. the future of afghanistan now rests on the talks between the afghan government and the taliban. but with no settlement in sight and if targeted killings continue, the fear is that the next generation may be just too intimidated to aspire to become thejournalists, human rights workers, and civil activists of tomorrow.

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. 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 tasmanian devils born in the wild on the australian mainland — for the first time in 3,000 years.