this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. joe biden says he'll release the results of a new inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus to the public. china says any suggestion it leaked from a lab is a "conspiracy". the british prime minister rejects claims by his own former adviser that government mistakes led to thousands of extra covid deaths, and his health secretary denies repeatedly lying about the pandemic. my recollection of events is that i committed to delivering that testing for people going from hospital into care homes when we could do it.

japanese doctors call for the tokyo olympics to be cancelled, warning the games could risk the creation of a new olympic variant. china has denounced the united states after president biden ordered an intelligence investigation into claims that the coronavirus pandemic originated as a leak from a chinese laboratory. beijing said us intelligence had a dark history of spreading misinformation. president biden says he's likely to release the report when it's ready detailing it's findings. here's our china correspondentjohn sudworth. for more than a year, the theory that the virus leaked from this wuhan laboratory has largely been dismissed as a conspiracy.

the invisible enemy, the china virus... the theory�*s association with donald trump made it for manyjust one more piece of disinformation. but in the mouth of president biden, well, that feels different, and suddenly the world's media are taking it seriously. well, i think it's very important because it will feed into... a welcome change for those long trying to argue that all possible origins need to be investigated. well, it matters because it has had a huge impact on everybody's lives around the world. we need to find out how this started, so we can prevent it happening again. if it turns out it was a lab leak, we need to make sure our bio—safety and bio—security policies are solid and that they're in place and implemented. china now finds itself repeating its earlier denials. translation: the united states does not care about _

facts and truth at all. nor is it interested - in serious scientific tracing. but instead wants to use i the epidemic to politically manipulate and to stigmatise. many scientists still favour a natural origin. coronaviruses are known to have jumped from animals to humans in markets like this in the past. lab leaks, though, have also happened before, and the wuhan lab has collected, studied and experimented on coronaviruses on a huge scale. when we tried to report on this science, we were followed, obstructed and prevented from filming. have you found the origins of the coronavirus? but the world health organization team that visited wuhan all but ruled out a lab leak. today, one of them told the bbc if the us has evidence that

lab workers got sick, it should share it. they've been saying that for almost a year now, so if there is real evidence, then i think the responsibility of the us is to share it because then it can be followed up. the debate will continue, but evidence is what matters, and there's little prospect of china allowing another investigation on its soil. john sudworth, bbc news, taipei. i'm joined now by professor yanzhong huang, a seniorfellow for global health at the council on foreign relations and an expert on china. thank you very much for being with us. are you surprised byjoe biden poz my decision to authorise this inquiry? poz my decision to authorise this inuui ? ., ., , ,

inquiry? not really. this announcement - inquiry? not really. this announcement is - inquiry? not really. this announcement is not. inquiry? not really. this i announcement is not based inquiry? not really. this - announcement is not based on inquiry? not really. this _ announcement is not based on new data supporting the lab leak theory, it is just based on a reassessment of the hypothesis. he it isjust based on a reassessment of the hypothesis.— it isjust based on a reassessment of the hypothesis. he is taking some olitical of the hypothesis. he is taking some political risk — of the hypothesis. he is taking some political risk presumably _ of the hypothesis. he is taking some political risk presumably given - of the hypothesis. he is taking some political risk presumably given that l political risk presumably given that he is currently trying to rebuild relations with china. yes, being critical on the human rights record particularly towards the uighurs but also saying that china can be a valuable partner on things like climate change. climate change depends on data, it depends on countries being candid about their emissions and all the rest of it. why is he trying to sort of provoke china in this way? after all they are not known for wanted to be particularly transparent on this issue. i wonder what will be changed by knowing what the origin was even if he was able to establish that. i think there are both pros and cons of making such an announcement. certainly as far as the us— china relations are concerned by poking china in the eyes, that won't help

improve the already fragile bilateral relationship. especially as far as this cooperation over climate change is concerned. but i think it might also be interpreted as a preemptive strategy to sort of... given that china, there is this potential, this charm initiative being launched at the world health organization. this could be a preemptive strategy to basically put china on the defensive, and in the meantime, this issue could also generate a lot of consensus for the us and its allies. one brief last thought if i may. if china has got nothing to hide, why does it notjust be open about this?

why not show the transparency that was then dismissed a theory, the allegation?— allegation? well, i think transparency _ allegation? well, i think transparency is - allegation? well, i think transparency is indeed l allegation? well, i think. transparency is indeed and allegation? well, i think- transparency is indeed and there allegation? well, i think— transparency is indeed and there is concern here that also led to the resurfacing of that lab leak theory. but given this highly politcised issue and also polarised, in terms of the origins of the pandemic, then it's become increasingly impossible for china to become more transparent. not to mention that for the united states, too, given that they now actually themselves have been a founder of this research at the wuhan institute of our revealing the wuhan institute of our revealing the evidence could also place the united states in an awkward

situation as well. ., , ,., ., ~ situation as well. professor, thank ou ve situation as well. professor, thank you very much _ situation as well. professor, thank you very much for _ situation as well. professor, thank you very much for being _ situation as well. professor, thank you very much for being with - situation as well. professor, thank you very much for being with us i situation as well. professor, thank i you very much for being with us here on bbc news. you very much for being with us here on bbc newe— the uk health secretary, matt hancock, has denied lying to his colleagues and to the public about dealing with covid in care homes, saying he's been "straight with people" throughout the pandemic. yesterday, the prime minister's former special adviser, dominic cummings, said mr hancock should have been sacked for lying on multiple occasions, but he has hit back saying the allegations are untrue. here's our political editor laura kuennsberg. the accusations were grave... tens of thousands of people died who didn't need to die. ..delivered with vicious candour. when the public needed us most, the government failed. the adviser who used to stalk the corridors of number ten now has it in his sights. fundamentally, i regarded him as unfit for thejob. what was his response to his former right—hand man? i think, if i may say so, that some of the commentary i've heard doesn't bear any relation to reality.

we did everything we could to protect the nhs and to protect care homes, as well. did you test anyone being put into a care home? we did everything we could... i mean, you didn't, did you? we did everything we could. but mr cummings' claims have made him a temporary political friend of the labour leader. we know that we've got one of the highest death tolls i in europe, and the families who've . lost someone are entitled to answers in relation to this, because bad decisions have consequences. i and in this case, the consequences, |i'm afraid, are unnecessary deaths. | but the minister who stepped into the most trouble is the health secretary. then i'll be going to the house of commons, and i'll answer questions there. thanks very much. after his profile was under heavy attack, seeming to wind down the window for a better snap. the barbs at matt hancock came again and again. the secretary of state for health should've been fired for at least 15, 20 things, including lying to everybody.

or, specifically, on what happened in care homes, where thousands died... the government rhetoric was, "we put a shield around care homes and blah blah blah" — it was complete nonsense. listen to whether the denials were quite so complete today. these unsubstantiated allegations around honesty are not true, and that i've been straight with people, in public and in private, throughout. is he ashamed that he promised a protective shield around care i homes, and over 30,000 care home residents have died? _ why were 25,000 elderly people . discharged from hospitals into care homes without any tests? questions will continue, though, whether in the commons, or here at the department of health, especially around what happened in our care homes behind closed doors. because from early on, there were public calls from care home managers and mps for a harder look at what was going wrong or to get more tests to them, and at the beginning of may,

there was acute concern expressed in number ten. an urgent meeting brought together to get to the bottom of what was going on. it was common knowledge last year that there were terrible problems in care homes. can you still stand there today and say it's true that you protected care homes from the start? we worked as hard as we could to protect people who live in care homes. we committed to building the testing capacity to allow that to happen. of course, it then takes time to build testing capacity. perhaps, then, that's the end of one government claim, but it won't be the last you'll hear of dominic cummings' allegations. he may be gone, but his shadow, and the events of the last year, still stalk number ten. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. let's get some of the day's other news. the g7 has called for the immediate and unconditional release of roman protasevich, the belarusian journalist

who was arrested in minsk after the plane he was on was forced to land in the belarusian capital. the president of belarus, alexander lukashenko, has accused his critics of trying to "strangle" his country. tens of thousands of people are having to escape the city of goma in the democratic republic of congo due to fears of another eruption of a volcano. the governor of north kivu province ordered the evacuation of ten districts of the city, saying an eruption could take place with very little warning. tens of thousands of people in eastern india and neighbouring bangladesh have been made homeless in the aftermath of a cyclone that killed at least five people. officials say rescue efforts have been complicated by villagers refusing to leave their homes due to fears of coronavirus. now to the tokyo olympics. the event is still set to go ahead despite rising covid case numbers across japan.

and now the japanese doctor's union has joined the calls for the event to be cancelled. the union's chairman said holding the event could risk the creation of a new variant. to discuss all this, i'm joined now by professorjules boykoff, a former footballer and an expert on the politics of the olympics and sport from the pacific university of oregon. thanks very much for being with us. one of the country's leading newspapers which is actually a sponsor of the games called for it to be cancelled. today we have japanese doctors speaking out. we have survey suggesting 80% of the population don't want it. and certainly not in the circumstances. what is inflammation for why it is still going ahead? you what is inflammation for why it is still going ahead?— still going ahead? you are still riuht. still going ahead? you are still right- there — still going ahead? you are still right. there is _ still going ahead? you are still right. there is this _ still going ahead? you are still right. there is this cascade - still going ahead? you are still right. there is this cascade ofl right. there is this cascade of this, against holding the tokyo olympics this summer. the reason why it is fairly straightforward, it's

money. the international olympic committee has a lot at stake and the summer olympics are there golden cash spigot. they are not thrilled about when to get shot because of a little pandemic. at least that's how they are treating it. to make it a little more clear, 70% of the committee's budget come from broadcast revenue and another 18% comes from corporate sponsors like coca—cola and ali baba. so when nine out of every $10 flowing into the coffers come from those two sources, you can understand why they are fine with the made—for—tv event so long as they can pull it off, broadcast it, collect those revenues and move on. ~ , ., ., ., , on. the australian open when it relatively successfully _ on. the australian open when it relatively successfully albeit - on. the australian open when it| relatively successfully albeit with a lot of restrictions on the athletes concerned. why could that happen and the tokyo olympics not happen? happen and the tokyo olympics not ha en? ., , happen and the tokyo olympics not ha en? .,, ., happen and the tokyo olympics not hauen? ., ., happen? people have pointed to the australian open, _ happen? people have pointed to the australian open, though _ happen? people have pointed to the australian open, though it _ happen? people have pointed to the australian open, though it was - happen? people have pointed to the australian open, though it was not l australian open, though it was not perfect, that's for sure, nor the recent indian cricket tournament had to be stopped in the midst of it, those are relatively small tournaments compared to the 11,000

athletes and around 80,000 individuals that would need to travel to tokyo for the lipid games. they talk about there being a bubble for the australian open. this would be dealt bubble grande in will be very difficult to control because of fact that less of a percent of the population injapan is vaccinated. so even if you throw those athletes in a perfectly sealed bubble, he will be properly sealed because you need to have workers coming in from the outside to deliver the food, deliver other items and so while it might seem antiseptic on the surface, if you start thinking about the basics of life can becomes pretty tricky to hold down that bubble. . , , pretty tricky to hold down that bubble. ., , , ., bubble. last brief thought, if there is so much — bubble. last brief thought, if there is so much political— bubble. last brief thought, if there is so much political pressure, - bubble. last brief thought, if there is so much political pressure, whatj is so much political pressure, what is so much political pressure, what is the premise or not go ahead and pull the plug? the is the premise or not go ahead and pull the plug?— pull the plug? the prime minister has stated publicly _ pull the plug? the prime minister has stated publicly that _ pull the plug? the prime minister has stated publicly that that - pull the plug? the prime minister has stated publicly that that is - pull the plug? the prime minister| has stated publicly that that is not his purview. it is only the ioc who can decide to cancel the olympics and that is written right into the host city contract that every single olympic host science with the ioc.

professor, thank you so much for speaking to us on bbc news. mi; speaking to us on bbc news. ij�*i pleasure. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, signs of success in bhutan, keeping the coronavirus virus under control. 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 forming 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 go, girl power. not geri, why? this is bbc news. the latest headlines — president biden orders intelligence agencies to redouble efforts to investigate the origins of covid—19, including any possibility it could have come from a chinese lab. the british health secretary, matt hancock, says claims that he repeatedly lied about his handling of the pandemic are not true. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has condemned the overhaul of electoral rules in hong kong. the sweeping changes, approved

on thursday, limit the number of directly elected legislators. they also mean candidates will be vetted to keep out those critical of beijing. martin yip in hong kong explains. this electoral reform bill pretty much prescribed by beijing was passed by a landslide 110—2 in the legislature. the only remaining pro—democracy politician said no to it. so did another who claimed himself to be neutral. beijing has hailed the passing of the bill as the beginning of good governance after what it calls "chaos" in past elections. the question now is if hong kong's legislature would ever hear pro—democracy opposition voices again, as in the past year, we saw dozens of politicians and activists both young and old being detained or imprisoned under various charges. some of them are charged with subversion or collusion with foreign forces under the new national security law, which, if found guilty,

could mean life imprisonment. even if they could be able to walk free from jail at some point, they could still be disenfranchised for life. lo kin—hei, head of hong kong's democratic party, has said they will find a gap to survive. for the democratic party, we're still debating or still discussing within our party on our role forward. whether or not we will join the election, it is still too early to call. other parties remain undecided on whether they should run in future elections. because, under the new law, if you want to run in an election, you will first have to be vetted by a committee that includes the national security police. if you fail this process, that could well mean that the police have secured enough evidence to prosecute you, while if you pass, that could be the voters' turn to question if you are indeed

a pro—democracy politician. martin yip in hong kong. as the spread of the coronavirus continues to rage in india, their small himalayan neighbour bhutan has largely kept the virus under control. the country shares 700 kilometres of porous border with india and has a fragile health system. despite this, bhutan has vaccinated more than 80% of its adult population in around three weeks. and although it's a small country, with around 760,000 people, many live in remote himalayan villages. let's talk to michael kugelman, who is the deputy director of asia programme at the wilson center and a leading specialist on bhutan. did i get that right in the end or correct me if i did not? you did i get that right in the end or correct me if i did not?- did i get that right in the end or correct me if i did not? you got it erfectl correct me if i did not? you got it perfectly right- — correct me if i did not? you got it perfectly right. sorry _ correct me if i did not? you got it perfectly right. sorry i _ correct me if i did not? you got it perfectly right. sorry i stumbled.

perfectly right. sorry i stumbled over it. thank _ perfectly right. sorry i stumbled over it. thank you _ perfectly right. sorry i stumbled over it. thank you very - perfectly right. sorry i stumbled over it. thank you very much . perfectly right. sorry i stumbledj over it. thank you very much for being with us. how did they achieve well on the surface seems like a remarkable and rapid vaccination programme?— programme? yeah, it really is remarkable. _ programme? yeah, it really is remarkable. from _ programme? yeah, it really is remarkable. from the - programme? yeah, it really is remarkable. from the spark, l programme? yeah, it really is - remarkable. from the spark, bhutan's remarkable. from the spark, bhutan�*s response to the pandemic has been very impressive. you had very swift and effective action from the government and you've also had very clear and consistent communication from authorities all of the population should do to deal with the pandemic. in another advantage for bhutan if you have a lot of public trust within society toward political leaders and government institutions. when the government with providing advice how to handle the pandemic, the people were trusting them. they get a key factor which has enabled bhutan to be so successful in its response is this spirit of altruism and compassion that's very known in bhutan where essentially you have the entire country, government officials including the king himself and the public mobilising to help those needed assistance with the pandemic. you had the king who essentially lost a $20 million relief campaign

targeting citizens to buy the pandemic and they moved very quickly to vaccinate the public. so it's important to note that many people are vaccinated initially but most of the people vaccinate initially only received one dose and not to. so that kind of much talked about happiness index is notjust a kind of pr thing to appeal to foreign investors and tourists, it actually affects the cultural approach to shared problems?— affects the cultural approach to shared problems? that's exactly riuht. shared problems? that's exactly right- some _ shared problems? that's exactly right. some people _ shared problems? that's exactly right. some people feel- shared problems? that's exactly right. some people feel that - shared problems? that's exactlyj right. some people feel that this gross national happiness thing is some sort of cute little abstraction and is fun to joke about. but indeed i think it was a major factor that enabled bhutan to react so effectively to the pandemic to this point. effectively to the pandemic to this oint. ~ . effectively to the pandemic to this oint, . ., ., ~' , effectively to the pandemic to this oint. . ., ., ,, , ., point. what makes it even more remarkable _ point. what makes it even more remarkable is _ point. what makes it even more remarkable is i _ point. what makes it even more remarkable is i noticed - point. what makes it even more remarkable is i noticed a - point. what makes it even more remarkable is i noticed a figure | remarkable is i noticed a figure that said there only 337 physicians for a population of around 750,000 people. quite extraordinary. thank you very much forjoining us from

the asia programme at the wilson centre. thanks very much.- the asia programme at the wilson centre. thanks very much. the french president, emmanuel macron, has asked rwandans to forgive france for its role in the 1994 rwandan genocide in which 800,000 ethnic tutsis and moderate hutus died. he said france did not listen to warnings about the impending genocide and that for too long it had valued silence over examination of the truth. the bbc�*s olivier weber reports. music — la marseillaise. the sounds of the french national anthem echoing in kigali. this was emmanuel macron's first visit to rwanda, only the second french president to make the trip since the genocide in 1994. mr macron then headed for the gisozi genocide memorial centre, where 250,000 victims are buried. this is where the french head of state made a solemn speech translation: france did not - understand that by wanting to block original conflict or a civil war, it stood de facto by a genocidal regime.

a report by a french inquiry panel in march said a colonial attitude had blinded then—president francois mitterrand and his officials and that they had serious and overwhelming responsibility for not foreseeing the genocide committed by the hutu government backed by france. translation: and so, | with modesty and respect by your side today, i come to recognise our responsibility. responsibility, but no official apology from france. most certainly a call for forgiveness. translation: only those who went through that night can perhaps - forgive and so could give us the gift of forgiving ourselves. yet emmanuel macron insists french troops were not involved in the massacres. a genocide survivors�* group said it regretted the lack of a clear apology from mr macron. translation: we remember the french

who went to the checkpoints, _ who walked with the far and who helped then to distinguish between the tutsis and the hutus. we cannot forget that easily. we need to be honest. they have participated. it was time to say sorry. but president paul kagame welcomed the speech. this was a powerful speech with a special meaning - for what is taking place now and which will resonate - well beyond rwanda. this was a visit meant to mark the final stage of the reconciliation between france and rwanda, a way to move on from three decades of diplomatic tensions. olivier weber, bbc news. terrible event still being discussed and debated after all these years.

lots of details on the history of the rwanda conflict on our website. thanks very much for your company. you are watching bbc news. hello there. we saw plenty of sunshine today, and it felt much warmer across the board than what we've been used to this month so far. there are some subtle changes overnight. we've got a weak weather front pushing into western areas. that's going to bring the thicker cloud to many, but also outbreaks of rain across the west, initially for northern ireland, and then that rain will spill its way eastwards through the night across western scotland in towards western england and also western wales. there'll some mistiness and murkiness around, too. but the further east you are, although there will be more cloud around, it should tend to stay dry here. those temperatures no lower than around 8—11 degrees for most, so milder than last night. so, here we go — here's the pressure chart for friday, then. we've got this weak weather front across western areas pushing into high pressure,

so that's always going to weaken it. so, it looks like the rain out west will slowly peter out through the course of the day, but could stay rather grey, damp and misty here. further north and east, we'll see the best of any sunny spells and dry weather, but where the sunshine does appear and pushes temperatures close to the 20 celsius mark, then we could see the odd heavy shower developing, particularly in towards east anglia. and temperatures not as high as what we've seen today. now, for the bank holiday weekend, though, we're going to see lots of sunshine around, particularly for england and wales, as high pressure continues to build in across the country. for saturday, there will be a legacy of cloud left from that weather front, so patchy cloud and sunny spells sums it up nicely. maybe the odd shower mixed into there, but most places will be dry. where you get the sunshine, temperatures reaching the low 20s celsius again. further north, where skies stay cloudy, then the high teens celsius. for sunday, though, i think it looks sunnier across the board. little bit of fairweather cloud bubbling up through the afternoon, and there will be light winds as well around this area of high pressure, so it's going to feel much warmer than what we've been used to. 22—23 degrees across the south,

20 celsius there across parts of scotland, too. now, for the bank holiday monday, we'll see this weather front push in from the north—west, affecting the north west of scotland, parts of northern ireland. but for the south and east of scotland, much of england and wales, it's pretty similar to sunday. plenty of sunshine, light winds and feeling warm — in fact, even warmer. we could make 211—25 degrees across the south or the south east. and it stays fine, settled and sunny, particularly for england and wales as we head through the first week ofjune. temperatures holding up at around the mid—20s celsius across the south east.

this is bbc news. the headlines... china has warned the us not to politicise the issue of the origins of the covid outbreak. president biden has ordered a new intelligence probe following reports it could have emerged from a chinese laboratory. the british prime minister, has denied allegations by his former top advisor, that poor handling of the pandemic led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths. his health secretary also denied allegations that he repeatedly lied. doctors groups injapan have said that the olympics should be cancelled if current coronavirus infection rates continue. medical groups have warned the event could introduce new variants to japan and strain medical resources as the country battles a fourth virus wave. tens of thousands of people in eastern india and neighbouring bangladesh have been made homeless in the aftermath of a cyclone that killed at least five people. the storm made landfall on wednesday.