this is bbc news. i'm james reynolds with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the $6 trillion plan — president biden pushes the biggest spending programme since world war ii to reboot the us economy. belarus�*s leader accuses the west of trying to destablise his country. he's met president putin as tensions mount over last week's plane diversion. india's hidden death toll — covid is killing thousands every day, but the figures show only a fraction of the tragedy. we've been told that 26 people have died here with symptoms of covid—19 in the past month, but none of them were actually tested. that means they're not included in india's official death toll from the virus. and thousands of manchester city and chelsea fans arrive in portugal ahead of saturday's champions league final.

president biden has unveiled his budget proposal for next year, with the highest level of federal government spending since the second world war. he's calling forjust over $6 trillion worth of post—pandemic spending which still needs congressional approval. he's demanding huge investments in infrastructure, education and green technology, but he faces a political battle to deliver it and growing concerns over its impact on inflation and the national debt. reacting to the proposal, the senior republican senator lindsey graham called it "insanely expensive", but the democratic house speaker nancy pelosi said it showed the value her party placed on america's workers and its middle—class. here's the president speaking earlier at an event in ohio.

the bottom line is this — the biden economic plan is working. we've had record job creation. we're seeing record economic growth. we're creating a new paradigm. and now, 50% of all of america, more than any other country, is fully vaccinated. applause. 75% of seniors — black, white, hispanic, across—the—board — are fully vaccinated. we're getting lives back. the american economy's coming back. for more on the significance of president biden�*s budget proposals, here's our north america correspondent david willis. this repesents america's biggest federal spending package since the second world wan _ it all amounts to a 36% increase in spending compared to before the coronavirus pandemic. a lot of it we knew about.

money, nearly $2 trillion for example in improving the nation's infrastructure, almost the same amount on improving education standards. money to combat gun violence, climate issues and so on. butjoe biden is of the view that so—called trickle—down economics, on which his country for so long has been built, simply don't work. he believes the economy needs to be boosted from the middle and the bottom upwards. this is, of course, a negotiating package. he's a man who's very keen to achieve bipartisan agreement on these sort of issues. at least to have bipartisan negotiations. but there could certainly be some very hard negotiations in the weeks and months ahead, especially bearing in mind the fact that republicans have reacted so strongly to this package, saying that it would drown americans in debt, deficit and inflation.

at a meeting with russian president vladmir putin on friday, the leader of belarus, alexander lukashenko, said the west is trying to destabilise his country. european leaders have accused belarus of air piracy after a commercialjet was forced to land in minsk and an opposition journalist was arrested. sarah rainsford reports from minsk. in belarus, marrying an opposition politician can make for a very lonely life. for a whole year, volha's only contact with her husband has been these letters from his prison cell. pavel writes poems for her, long stories for their son but this week, volha finally got to see him. and pavel was still chanting defiance, even in court. the trial had been closed, with relatives only let in for the guilty verdict.

translation: we weren't allowed close, we could only shout - i love you or make heart signs, but even to look at each other was a hugejoy. pavel seviarynets is a lifelong dissident, but now his three—year—old is growing up without his dad. he was arrested before belarus erupted in protest over the re—election of president alexander lukashenko. translation: it's - a really long sentence. our son will be ten when he gets out, but i don't think he will serve it all. i don't let myself think like that. people here are afraid, but there's real pressure on lukashenko and i think any spark could ignite things again. the protesters have been forced to retreat from the streets for now, though. many have fled abroad, hundreds more are behind bars. i've never known belarus

like this, not in all the years i've been coming here. people now are just terrified to speak out, because with the crackdown with all the arrests, you never know who they'll be coming for next. last week, they came for the journalists. vasil was nervous about talking, but his wife was arrested with 14 people in her team at the country's best—known independent news site. today, he was waiting to hear if marina had been charged. so, is there any news, anything new? no news. no news? no news. alexander lukashenko is crushing dissent here, and yet vasil believes last year's protests were a turning point. in public, nobody demonstrates because it is really dangerous, but the people didn't change their mind. they need the change for the country. change was the rallying cry of the protests here,

and some still see glimmers of hope for the future. sarah rainsford, bbc news, minsk. let's get some of the day's other news. europe's medicines regulator has backed the use of pfizer's covid—i9 vaccine for children as young as 12, paving the way for a broader roll—out in the region. it's already being used in the european union for those aged 16 and older. japan has extended a state of emergency in tokyo and several other areas for another three weeks as hospitals struggle to cope with serious cases of covid—i9. the government says the measures will stay in place untiljune the 20th, one month before the olympic games are due to start. the us government is "rapidly" formulating plans to evacuate potentially thousands of interpreters who worked for coalition forces in afghanistan over the past two decades to protect their safety. as many as 18,000 afghan nationals have applied for us visas to immigrate to the us under a special programme.

at least 300,000 people are now known to have died in india's second wave of coronavirus, with may likely to be the deadliest month so far. but the true death toll could be several times higher, especially in rural areas where the virus is now spreading. access to health care there is almost nonexistent, as our international correspondent orla guerin found when she travelled to bihar, one of the poorest areas in india. funeral pyres are now a prism for the pain of a nation. he is lost in grief for his mother, one of the latest victims of covid—i9 in the state of bihar. with so many dead across india, cremation costs have soared. some families here have been reduced to entrusting the bodies of their loved ones to the sacred waters of the ganges.

prime minister narendra modi, whose ratings are falling, has been remembering the dead with a show of emotion. but within hours, "crocodile tears" was trending on social media here. the full scale of india's tragedy may never be known. we crossed the ganges to reach the vast hinterland. in ruralareas, like the village of like birpur, we found a landscape of neglect and untold stories. so can you tell me, are many families affected here? no social distancing either, and no masks in sight.

this is the other india, not rising but left behind. people here say the living are barely counted, much less the dead. we've been told that 26 people have died here with symptoms of covid—i9 in the past month, but none of them were actually tested. that means they're not included in india's official death toll from the virus. now this is just one village, but you can multiply this across india. take a look at the village health centre. imagine having to rush here in an emergency. it's an empty shell, carefully padlocked. this neglect is not unusual in rural india. it takes three hours to get to a hospital. many can't afford the journey. the village leader has lost

neighbours and friends. he blames the prime minister. when we returned to birpur for a second day, health workers had been dispatched to the village. a local source told us the visit was a token gesture because we had been on the ground. hello, hi, we are from bbc news. this health worker finally had some vaccines.

so, she waited in vain. there is vaccine hesitancy in the village, but in much of the country, there's no vaccine to be had. covid has cut across india like a scythe, bringing anguish for the living and indignity for the dying. and for the prime minister, the accusation of failing his people. orla guerin, bbc news, on the banks of the ganges. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, decades after his death, how the killing ofjames byrdjr has reshaped the way america handles hate crimes. 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 j 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 has been defending his plans for a $6 trillion government spending spree, the biggest since the second world war. the belarusian leader, alexander lukashenko, accuses the west of trying to destabilise his country during talks with president putin. in 1998, a black man named james byrdjr was murdered in a gruesome attack in texas. it galvanised the civil rights movement, and many laws against hate crimes in america are now named after him. but decades later, america continues to struggle with racial violence. the bbc�*s chelsea bailey has been speaking with mr byrd jr's family and friends, and a warning, her report has details that some viewers may find distressing. i would describe my dad as witty, the life of the party and very free—spirited.

the day before my dad was brutally murdered, he wasn't himself. i don't know if he felt something... i was actually in basic training, and my sergeants woke me up and told me, you know, i had a phone call, it was pretty important. the phone rings, and i heard my sister just scream. and when i heard her scream, she hit the wall. and she said, "daddy!" it's something you don't ever want to get a phone call for, i'll tell you that. on a saturday night injune 1998, james byrd jr caught a ride with three white men injasper, texas. they drove him down a dark country road, beat him and then chained him alive to a pick—up truck and dragged his body for three miles until he was decapitated.

a black boy found the body on his way to church, - and he called the sheriff'sl department because it was outside of the city limits. the sheriff immediately called the fbi in for back—up, but it didn't take long for the news to spread through town. he took the ministers out there and showed us, - and we saw where the teeth - were and where the baseball cap was and where the arm and the head were. - and it was horrible. he wanted us to know... ..as much as he knew... ..so that we could tell our people. i are you a white supremacist? the day after the murder, police arrested john william king, russell brewer and shawn allen berry. we believe that bill king. wanted to start a kkk group in this community and needed j to do something phenomenal, earth—shattering, cos bill was a brilliant kid, - but he was evil.

john william king became the first white man in texas history to be sentenced to death for killing a black man. russell brewer was sentenced and executed as well, and shawn allen berry is still serving life in prison. good morning, shawn. in 2009, president barack obama signed a hate crimes law named afterjames byrd jr. it will strengthen— the protections against crimes based on the colour of your skin, the faith in your heart or the place of your birth. 23 years later, i still get angry, but it's how you channel your anger. i mean, i choose to channel it in a positive manner, so this is a journey for me. my dad did not get killed at the hands of a police officer, but in today's world,

that is what we're seeing. we're seeing a lot of brutality by the hands of officers. the murder of george floyd, it was a challenging point for me to put on my uniform. just the disappointment that our country is still enduring racism in the magnitude that it is. i want to be that officer, if nothing else, just be there in solidarity, be there as, "hey, you know, i know what you're going through." how many george floyds do there got to be, you know? how manyjames byrds do there got to be? so, we got to start back loving each other. it don't make no sense. you can watch the full documentary, american hate crime, on the bbc news website and youtube channel. us senate republicans have blocked an attempt to create an independent

commission to investigate the january 6th riots at the capitol in washington. ten republicans would have needed to join all 50 democrats to back the inquiry after the measure won bipartisan support in the house of representatives. but only six republican senators voted in favour. thousands of fans are descending on the portuguese city of porto ahead of saturday's champions league final between chelsea and manchester city. 16,500 supporters will be allowed into the stadium to watch one of the biggest events in sport after the venue of the final was switched at the last minute. our sports correspondent natalie pirks reports from porto. music. wembley may have been a more practical choice for an all—english final... singing. ..but now they're in porto, fans are more than happy. for the train to london, it's 100 quid, and it's 400 quid to come here. you get the sun, you get the beer and the people are better. wembley would've been nice because you could've had a lot

more drink and a lot more people, but you can't really beat this, can you, to be honest? it's our first— champions league final. you can't not follow| your team, can you, with or without a ticket? i've missed two games in 42 years. it was essential that i was here, even though there were a lot of hoops tojump through. yes, it hasn't exactly been simple. # portugal, portugal, we are coming...# on top of the usual flight and hotel price hikes, three covid tests are needed to get in and out. well, more than 11,000 city and chelsea fans have tickets and will be in the stadium, but plenty more have travelled without tickets and are planning to watch it in the bars around porto, which close at 10:30pm at night. during the day, the atmosphere was one of mutual respect, albeit under a watchful eye. like most tourist cities, porto has lost millions during the pandemic, but now the hotels are full for the first time since last march. it was important for - the economy, to the local economy, for the restaurants, for the hotels, for the shops, i

for the tourists, for- the boats, for example. so, it's like kick—off- fora new moment here in porto and north portugal. both teams overcame stellar opposition to be here, but this is city's first champions league final. for pep guardiola, there's no greater feeling. i'm the happiest man in the world right now to be in here, so it's a privilege. it's an honour, and we're going to try to do our best. tonight, the police presence has intensified. they've maintained a mostly hands—off approach so far. the prize for fans is the most coveted trophy in european club football, but the nation's reputation is also at stake. natalie pirks, bbc news, porto. now, every 17 years, they cause havoc and the occasional shudder. billions of cicadas known as brood x or brood 10 are emerging in a synchronised event that only happens in the us.

and as the bbc�*s nada tawfik reports from the state of newjersey, the great eastern brood is causing quite the buzz. it's a sight and sound that will make your skin crawl. billions of periodical cicadas emerging out of the earth and overtaking the eastern united states. the rare spectacle has americans in awe. it was deafening, really deafening... the grants have lived here for decades, and like clockwork, the brood x cicadas have arrived at the same time every 17 years to mate. it can get so loud that some of theirfriends have mistaken the male insects�* droning song for a police siren. because of my hearing disadvantages, i don't put my hearing aids when i come out in the garden. otherwise i get the whole sound magnified. the mass emergence and its timing is all part of a clever survival strategy to evade predators.

then the metamorphosis from nymph to adult happens relatively quickly. so, here we have a fully grown female that's now ready to mate and lay her eggs. she'll only live 4—6 weeks, though, after being underground for 17 years. cos this is when they're most vulnerable, right here, - cos their body is so soft. it's a magical time for entomologist drjessica ware, whose16—year—old daughter wasn't even alive the last time she saw these insects. the world was a very different place back then. george bush was president, and facebook was just launched. you know, a lot of people - for centuries have been calling these things locusts, i but they're the opposite of locusts because they're not actually a plague, - they're not destroying crops. they're actually living their life completely i in exclusion of humans, i and they're great nutrition. i'm going to put two on this one... yes, you heard that right, these critters are culinary delicacy. cicadas are a flavour bomb.

they have so much flavour and add a scent of umame to the dish. chefjoseph had been cooking with the star ingredient to encourage americans to reimagine bugs as a protein—rich, sustainable food source. i think i'm ready. may i? yes, please. ok, i'm going to go with this one here. bug appetit. a burst of springtime in your mouth. there's a booth for the sound and lights. for others, the noisy critters are just downright disruptive. it's safe to say shakespeare is not in love with the cicada. this theatre company has had to cut its outdoor season short. the last time i directed a show out here, i sat over there with two huge badminton rackets and just screamed as they came at me and swatted them away. the takeover may be dramatic, but it is temporary. soon, the larvae of the new generation will burrow their way into the ground, resetting the 17—year cycle. nada tawfik, bbc news, newjersey.

turkey's president, recep tayyip erdogan, has inaugurated a large mosque in istanbul, a project he first championed when he was the city's mayor. thousands of worshippers gathered for the opening ceremony. the mosque sits in taksim square, next to a public space traditionally seen as a symbol of the secular turkish republic, and dwarfs a nearby monument to the republic and its founding. in 2013, opposition demonstrators took over taksim taksim square and next door gezi park in protest against a separate government plan to build a replica barracks in the area. a reminder of our top story — president biden has unveiled his budget proposal for next year, calling for just over $6 trillion worth of spending for the post—pandemic nation. mr biden said the economy must be rebuilt and chinese

competition fended off. more on this story on our website. do let me know what you are up to. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @jamesbbcnews. hello there. friday was a bit of a disappointing day thanks to a weak weather front which brought more cloud around and also some light and patchy rain. but for the weekend, as high pressure builds in, conditions will improve. we'll see increasing amounts of sunshine, and it will turn warmer as well. so, here's our building area of high pressure today. it'll be pushing these weather fronts out into the atlantic, so we'll see a lot of sunshine into the afternoon. because we will start off rather grey through this morning thanks to the legacy of yesterday's weather front. a little bit of drizzle here and there close to the west coast. but increasing amounts sunshine into the afternoon, and that could set off an isolated heavy shower here and there, particularly across the higher ground in the north. and there could be a little bit of low cloud and mist affecting north sea coasts. but with more sunshine around, we could make 19—20 degrees, maybe even warmer than that in one or two spots.

now, as we head through saturday night, any showers will fade away. we'll see some low cloud and mist rolling into eastern scotland and eastern england, but further west, skies should remain clear. those temperatures will range from around 7—11 degrees. so, on into sunday, then, our big area of high pressure's dominating the scene, slowly pushing out into the north sea. that's going to bring a lot of dry weather around. it will start quite grey and cool across eastern scotland and eastern england, but that low cloud and mist will burn back to the coast thanks to the strong late may sunshine. many places will be dry with widespread sunshine around, so it's going to be warmer. temperatures reaching 22 degrees there for glasgow, 21 or 22 or 23 degrees in parts of england and wales. now, as we head on into bank holiday monday, our area of high pressure will be out in the north sea, and that's going to draw some warm air up from the south or the south—east off the near continent. so, combine that with the strong late may sunshine, it's going to feel even warmer. 23, 2a, maybe even 25 degrees somewhere, so that will be challenging the warmest day of the year so far, which was

set back in late march. tuesday, we do it all again. south—southeasterly winds, plenty of sunshine around. it's going to be another very warm day. a bit of fairweather cloud bubbling up into the afternoon. those temperatures ranging from low to mid—20s celsius. always a little bit fresher along from southern and eastern coasts. now, as we head through the week, there isjust the chance at the moment that we could see some thundery showers moving up from the south, particularly through wednesday and thursday. otherwise, we should continue to see quite a bit of sunshine.

this is bbc news.

the headlines... us presidentjoe biden has proposed a $6 trillion budget to boost the us economy and fend off competition from china. mr biden is demanding huge investments in infrastructure, education and green technology. the plan, the biggest since the second world war, still needs congressional approval. belarus's leader has accused the west of trying to de—stabilise his nation. he made the commons on a visit to russia for talks with president putin as the fallout continues from last week's plane interception. the west said it was an act of air piracy. the european union's medicines regulator has approved the use of the pfizer— biontech coronavirus vaccine for children aged between twelve and fifteen. up to now, its use in the 27 member countries has only been allowed in those aged 16 and over. in theory this paves the way for a widening —— and those are the headlines. now on bbc news, it's time for the media show.