welcome to bbc news. our top stories... president biden visits the city of tulsa — on the centenary of one of the worst incidents of racial violence in american history. a belarusian opposition activist tries to cut his own throat as a protest against his prosecution — we meet some of the dissidents whose lives have been changed for ever. a special report from jordan — where we go back to meet two syrian refugees — victims of the terrible conflict in their homeland. pope francis issues the most comprehensive overhaul of laws in the roman catholic church for nearly a0 years. and — the drunken teenager who ended up choosing the wrong house to take an impromptu nap.

hello and welcome to the programme. president biden has been visiting the city of tulsa in oklahoma to mark a century since a white mob attacked a black district killing as many as 300 people. the attack on an affluent black community known as black wallstreet — followed an alleged assault on a white teenage girl. president biden has called on all americans to reflect on what he described as the �*deep roots of racial terror�* in the country's history. 0ur correspondent gary 0'donoghue reports from tulsa. this is the first time an american president has come to tulsa to acknowledge the horror of the massacre. local residents showed him around the greenwood cultural centre where he got to meet

the only known survivors of that murderous night in 1921 — america's worst single act of racial violence in its history. some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous they can't be buried, no matter how hard people try. in the light of the tulsa massacre and a year where racial injustice has been foremost following the murder of george floyd, the president did set out his ambition to redirect federal funding to assist minorities�* small businesses. i�*m determined to use every taxpayers�* dollar that�*s assigned to me to spend going to american companies and american workers to build american products and, as part of that, i�*m going to increase the share of the dollars the federal government spends to small disadvantaged businesses, including black and brown small businesses. there was little such help

for greenwood after 1921. in fact, the city purposely passed rules and regulations that would make it harder for black businesses to rebuild. it took decades for greenwood to recover, although it never regained its former glory. but now local entrepreneurs do want to recapture that past and they are looking to local, state and federal government to help. the black wall street liquid lounge is one place trying to revitalise the area. but while there is optimism for its future, the owner still believes the city is divided. i�*m more of a bootstrap kind of guy. so i think that the movement starts here with the citizens and the small business owners working together. if some are thinking about greenwood�*s future, others are praying for answers about its past. archaeologists now believe that dozens, if not hundreds, of victims of the massacre were buried in mass graves, and the work to find them

begins in earnest today. i feel a sense of pride, because right now we are opening up the ground where there is hidden history, a dark history. this is a murder investigation right here. a murder investigation. the work excavating the graves will take months, if not years. proof, if needed, that the past is rarely over. gary 0�*donoghue, bbc news, tulsa. as the pressure builds on dissidents to president lukashenko�*s regime in belarus, an activist stabbed himself in the neck during a court appearance in the capital, minsk. footage appears to show stepan latypov collapsing after using what looked like a pen as a weapon on tuesday. mr latypov was taken to hospital and was reportedly ok after surgery. he is accused of setting up opposition social media and resisting police during his arrest last september. he has denied all the charges. mark lobel reports.

lying unconscious in a minsk courtroom. activist stepan latypov moments after reportedly stabbing himself in the neck after addressing the court. translation: he got up and said police officers told me i would be put in the confinement cell. my relatives and neighbours would be prosecuted under criminal law if i do not confess. then he took something white in his teeth and started literally to cut his throat. everyone started screaming. police officers could not open the defender �*s cage for a while, eventually was rushed to hospital. like many world leaders, austria �*s chancellor is alarmed at the growing pressure on political prisoners. he spoke to the opposition leader and promised more action if things did not

improve. more action if things did not imrove. ~ more action if things did not improve-— more action if things did not imrove.~ , ., , ., improve. we should be open for further sanctions _ improve. we should be open for further sanctions if _ improve. we should be open for further sanctions if necessary. l further sanctions if necessary. i think it�*s important that the sanctions should be as precisely targeted as possible to target the regime and not the civil society, not the people. the civil society, not the maple-— the civil society, not the --eole. ~ . �* ., , the civil society, not the --eole. ~ . �* ., people. meanwhile, belarus 's ally russia _ people. meanwhile, belarus 's ally russia says _ people. meanwhile, belarus 's ally russia says it _ people. meanwhile, belarus 's ally russia says it is _ people. meanwhile, belarus 's ally russia says it is planning | ally russia says it is planning to conduct thousands of military training exercises like these once in 2017 over the summer. translation: the main efforts will be directed at improving individual performance and maintaining the intensity of combat training. the main outcome of the academic year will be thejoint outcome of the academic year will be the joint russian belarusian strategic exercises. backin belarusian strategic exercises. back in belarus, commits health ministry said stepan latypov �*s condition is stable and non—life threatening. but

president alexander lukashenko has now added a travel ban for most citizens following his harsh crackdown on opposition activists since his heavily contested election victory last august. showing that while he seeks to strengthen his grip on his disputed rule, he is intent on providing little escape for those unwilling to accept it. mark lobel, bbc news. the african union has said it is suspending mali�*s membership of the organisation in response to last week�*s military coup. members of the groups had already threatened sanctions if a civilian—led government was not restored. the decision comes two days after the economic community of west african states — known as ecowas — also halted mali�*s membership of its group demanding the country stick to a timetable to restore democracy. one of the most senseless consequences of war is its impact on children — and in syria, the lives and futures of a whole generation have been badly hit. it�*s now more than ten years

since syria descended into civil war. our world affairs correspondent caroline hawley reports from jordan where she�*s been back to meet again children who�*ve already paid a very heavy price. mustapha and his little sister, douaa, survived a bombing raid by the syrian regime seven years ago. both their parents were killed in the explosion that nearly took his life too. mustapha broke both his hips and still has shrapnel in his brain which doctors have told him they can�*t remove. we first met mustapha when he was five. over the years, the one thing that has never changed is his irrepressible smile. right now, mustapha has good reason to be happy. he and douaa and their grandmother are about to be given a new home on the other side of the world.

it�*s time for a last play with his cousins before he goes. as always, he does his best to keep up, but his injuries seem to affect him more than when we saw him last. his grandmother has looked after him for the past few years as if she was his own mum. she is frail now and can barely walk. for her, it won�*t be an easy move. but in the final hours before their departure when the children are too excited to get to sleep, there is a last—minute hitch. so they should actually be in the air right now but when you are a refugee

you don�*t have much control over events and there has been some kind of delay. the bureaucratic bungle means it will be weeks at least before he can fly. rahaf and mustapha don�*t know each other but they would recognise each other�*s pain. when she was three, her home in syria was hit by government shelling, setting her bedclothes on fire. her sister amma�*s burns were more severe. in 2012, we filmed amma having surgery on herface. she had so many operations over the years, so many medical procedures, herfamily have literally lost count.

rahaf herself has had 12, one for every year of her life, but nothing she has been through can match the agony of losing her sister, who was also her best friend. this was the last photo taken of amma before she got ill last year with an infection her body couldn�*t fight. rahaf is getting ready to visit her sister�*s grave. when i first met them, neither girl would look at themselves in the mirror, but both had grown hugely in self—confidence

before amma died. a casualty of syria�*s conflict years after the rocket fell. so much surgery on amma�*s injuries had taken a massive toll. her family took her from doctor to doctor to try to save her and after all that she had been through and survived, theyjust can�*t believe that now she is gone. the long reach of syria�*s war. for mustapha, there is still a new life in australia to look forward to, but that small piece of shrapnel buried in his brain that causes him so much trouble will be with him wherever he goes. caroline hawley, bbc news, amman. a 19—year—old man is appearing in court in singapore, charged with harassment after sending several death threats to the premier league footballer neal maupay last year. the abusive messages were sent via instagram to the brighton striker.

the football league traced the sender back to singapore, and alerted the authorities. derek ng de ren was subsequently arrested and charged by the singapore police. we can now speak to nick marsh, who�*s outside the courtroom in singapore tell us more about this case. this trial has just got under way behind me in the state courts and the case dates back to june 2020, courts and the case dates back tojune 2020, a match between brighton and arsenal in the premier league. neal maupay was playing for brighton, he was involved in a kind of an incident with the arsenal goalkeeper, the goalkeeper ended up getting injured and had to go off and arsenal ended up had to go off and arsenal ended up losing the match. if you days after this match neal maupay started to receive a stream of abusive messages on instagram. and these were death threats, physical threats against him, and against his family. they were abusive and they were graphic and of

course, they were reported to the premier league, this is quite common, unfortunately, footballers do get a lot of abuse on social media but what wasn�*t so common was the way in which the premier league managed to trace these messages all the way here to singapore, 7000 miles away. and they alerted the police, the police identified derek ng de ren, as you mentioned, charging him with four counts of online harassment. if convicted, and we know he intends to plead guilty, he faces a hefty fine of 20,000 singapore dollars and he could face up to two years injail and if there is a conviction we know it would be the first of its kind, someone overseas being charged and convicted of abuse of a premier league footballer in the uk. i suppose that is what makes it so interesting. abuse, nastiness on social media, goodness, we could fill almost every bulletin every day with that and nothing else but this case, the first of its kind and so being watched very closely, i imagine?—

so being watched very closely, i imagine? yes, being watched very closely. — i imagine? yes, being watched very closely, people _ i imagine? yes, being watched very closely, people are - very closely, people are talking about this being a kind of precedent when it comes to abuse. if you have spent any time on social media following football you know it can become quite a nasty place very quickly. the uefa president yesterday, the head of the european football association basically said enough is enough, we are having players getting dozens, hundreds of death threats, racial slurs, coming each and every day. now, the problem is that football being such a global game, this isn�*tjust restricted to the uk, where the premier league is based, people love football in singapore and it is followed all around the world but the hurdle was always for the premier league and authorities to get in touch with law enforcement overseas, to really persuade them to put in the time, the money, resources and identifying these people and treating them like international criminal cases. we have seen an example of collaboration between the premier league and the singapore police and if there is a conviction, we could see many more of these and we could

see a bit of a president, watershed moment in tackling online abuse.— stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the tennis star whose honesty about living with depression has drawn worldwide praise. the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the moment of crowning, in accordance with the order of service, via a signal given with the great guns of the tower. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali who has died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely out—fought, ali transcended the sport of boxing of which he was three times world champion. he was a good fighter, he fought all the way to the end — even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe.

today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles lp sgt pepper�*s lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century. this is bbc news, the latest headlines president biden visits the city of tulsa — on the centenary of one of the worst incidents of racial violence in american history. pope francis has issued the most comprehensive overhaul of roman catholic church laws for nearly a0 years. the new laws criminalise the grooming of children for sex and possessing images of child abuse. the pope reminded bishops to follow the letter of the law rather than leaving it to their own discretion. it�*s his latest attempt

to tackle the problem of child abuse that continues to dog the global church. the changes come into effect in december. thomas reese is a senior analyst with religion news service. he�*s in washington. why has this taken so long, do you think?— why has this taken so long, do you think? what we have in the code of canon _ you think? what we have in the code of canon law _ you think? what we have in the code of canon law is _ you think? what we have in the code of canon law is a - code of canon law is a collection of the laws of the church. since 1983 when the last code was gathered together, the last collection of laws, there has been a lot of laws, there has been a lot of changes in the laws of the church and so what the pope wanted to do was gathered together all those changes and put them down in one place where people could find them and so he could urge bishops to enforce them. in the old code, there was a lot of emphasis on compassion towards sinners, trying to convert them, etc.

this time, what they are recognising is the need to also emphasise justice for victims of these crimes. and this is a very important change in the rules and the laws of the church. so i wouldn�*t say it�*s taken all this time to do it, it�*s been done gradually and what the pope now is doing is gathering it all together in one place. gathering it all together in one place-— gathering it all together in one lace. ., , one place. you say the focus has to be — one place. you say the focus has to be on _ one place. you say the focus has to be on justice - one place. you say the focus has to be on justice for - one place. you say the focus has to be on justice for the l has to be on justice for the victims. but critics of these new laws point out that it�*s still does not refer, the law in the church, does not refer to sexual offences against minors, it still speaks of abuse as a crime, a violation of priestly celibacy. why did not the pope go further and make that a specific outlined point in the new law? i think, the way i _ point in the new law? i think, the way i read _ point in the new law? i think, the way i read it, _ point in the new law? i think, the way i read it, is _ point in the new law? i think, the way i read it, is it - point in the new law? i think, the way i read it, is it is - the way i read it, is it is both now, it�*s notjust a

violation of celibacy, but it�*s also a crime against the dignity of persons, that is extremely important. an extremely important. an extremely important. an extremely important change in the laws here. so i think it is both now. it is recognising this is notjust a sin against the sixth commandment, this is a violation of people and persons. it�*s notjust about sex, it�*s about destroying the dignity of a human person. ilqu’ith dignity of a human person. with these laws. _ dignity of a human person. with these laws, canon _ dignity of a human person. with these laws, canon law, - dignity of a human person. with these laws, canon law, briefly, it is enforceable within the church by bishops. should the decision not have been made to go further and say there is a duty to report it to the relevant crime enforcement authorities, in the country where any alleged offence took place? where any alleged offence took lace? , , where any alleged offence took lace? , _, ., , where any alleged offence took lace? , ,., ., , place? this is already the fact in the united _

place? this is already the fact in the united states, - place? this is already the fact in the united states, canada, | in the united states, canada, and i think practically all of europe and it�*s also happening in latin america. there are, however, some countries where you are presumed guilty until you are presumed guilty until you are presumed guilty until you are proven innocent, for if a bishop said this priest has been accused, the authorities would say, he must be guilty, white with the bishop report him if he is not guilty? when they don�*t really have due process and more importantly, there are some countries where there are some countries where the child would be punished, would be stoned or would be thrown out on the streets by their family. thrown out on the streets by theirfamily. and we have to protect them as well. understood. we must leave it there. thank you so much for joining us. the organisers of the four grand slams tennis tournaments have pledged to �*create meaningful improvements�* after world number two naomi osaka withdrew from the french open. she pulled out on monday after the controversy over her refusal to speak to the media at the tournament in a bid to protect her mental health.

she said she wanted to protect herself after suffering "long bouts of depression" after winning herfirst grand slam in 2018. katy gornall reports. naomi osaka is one of her sport�*s biggest and most marketable stars and yet all the talk in tennis has been about her not talking. last week, she said she wouldn�*t speak to the media at the french open — to protect her mental health. and then, 2k hours after winning herfirst match, pulled out of the tournament altogether, posting this on twitter. she said... "the best thing for the tournament, and my well—being, is that i withdraw. i never wanted to be a distraction." osaka revealed she�*d suffered long bouts of depression since winning the us open three years ago and gets huge waves of anxiety before speaking to the world�*s media. now she says she�*ll take some time away from the court. as much as it can be difficult and challenging at times, and i�*ve experienced that myself, it�*s part of the job. to have not been able to reach any sort of conclusion with the organisers and be able

to move forward because of the press commitments is, you know... it�*s sent shockwaves through the sport. all of the thoughts go to her and make sure that she�*s looking after her mental health, which it�*s good that that�*s what she�*s doing. as the tournament continued today without the world number two, players in paris offered their support. i feel for naomi. i feel like i wish i could give her a hug, because i know what it's like. like i said, i've been in those positions. you know, you just have to let her handle it the way she wants to, in the best way that she thinks she can. osaka can be engaging and outspoken, but her refusal to talk on this occasion has come at a cost. the 23—year—old was fined by the tennis authorities and threatened with expulsion for failing to fulfil her contractual duties. following her withdrawal, the head of the french tennis federation had this to say. we are sorry and sad for naomi osaka. - the outcome of naomi - withdrawing from roland—garros

is unfortunate. he then left, without taking questions. it was left to others to ask if lessons could be learned. because of covid, you know, the landscape�*s changed somewhat, so i think, perhaps, we need to look at psychological assessments before grand slams. we�*re only in the second grand slam of the year here and, clearly, top players are suffering and are feeling very vulnerable. osaka has put no timeframe on her return, but the issues are delicate and complicated, as the sport now tries to find a way forward with one of its greatest players. katie gornall, bbc news. over in milwaukee, wisconsin, one teenager had what you could call a rude awakening, stumbling into the wrong home at the wrong time. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri explains. we�*re renting — it�*s an airbnb. sometimes you just can�*t catch a break — especially when you�*re breaking in. story time. what happened?

well, apparently a drunk dude crashed with us last night. he's being taken away, though. there are few scenarios that could have been worse than drunkenly stumbling into an airbnb only to wake up in the morning and find that it�*s occupied by the police. this silly guy found the one airbnb in all of downtown milwaukee, wisconsin loaded with cops. he woke up in handcuffs. we called milwaukee police department, they came and took him wherever they took him and we�*re on our way to training. the police had one crucial question for him — does this happen often? no, this is the first time that i've woken up where the police are. here�*s another destination for him — the milwaukee police station. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. don�*t forget, you can reach me and most of the team on social media. thank you for watching. i will see you soon.

hello again. tuesday was the hottest day of the year so far. a title that will last until, well, later today when temperatures are expected to get a little higher still. most of us had skies like this, then, plenty of sunshine around and it was warm widely. 26.1 celsius was the highest temperature — that was in cardiff where we have the heat as far north as northern scotland at kinloss at 25 celsius. here, just 11 celsius. here we had low clouds and fog. there is another batch waiting to move across the north sea over the next few hours. meanwhile, over in france, we have some thunderstorms beginning to spread their way northwards. now, those thunderstorms coming from a cloud called altocumulus castellanus. you quite often don�*t get much rain from it, what falls can be big blobs, but you can get pretty dazzling lightning displays and lots of thunder. you might see some of that

in the channel islands in the next few hours, before those downpours spread into southwest england, where we could get some heavier rain mixed in. now, as that kind of air comes up from france, it�*ll start to feel much more humid across southern areas. eastern coastal areas of both england and scotland starting the day sunny, but late morning, i think we probably will see some areas of low clouds and fog move back in, particularly from about north yorkshire northwards, so it will be a lot cooler for these areas. temperatures, 27 celsius, wouldn�*t be surprised if we saw 28, just depends how much sunshine we get. on into thursday�*s forecast, well, the low pressure bringing the showers is still with us. this cold front�*s important — to the east of that, we could see some showers break out just about anywhere. now, there certainly will be some showers going across northern england and into scotland. but across england, well, this is where the cold front is, so we could get storms breaking out just about any time as we go through thursday, some of them could be really heavy as well. temperatures, still pretty high, 211—25 celsius across eastern areas of england, but otherwise,

those temperatures coming back down closer to average. now, thursday night, even into friday, we could still see some storms affecting parts of eastern england, but eventually, the whole of the uk will get into that fresher air that�*s come off the atlantic. so temperatures will be coming back closer to average. still, though, with some spells of sunshine around, it�*s not going to feel cold at all. it�*s going to be pleasant in the sunshine. temperatures about 19 in cardiff, 23 in london, 18 in glasgow. that�*s your weather.

this is bbc news. the headlines —

joe biden has become the first sitting us president to visit the city of tulsa in oklahoma, where a century ago, hundreds of black americans were massacred by a white mob. mr biden met the handful of surviving members of the affluent greenwood neighborhood where the killings took place. a belarusian opposition activist has tried to cut his own throat in a courtroom protest at his prosecution. he was one of those detained last year in a violent crackdown on dissent, after the disputed results of the presidential election. doctors say his life is not in danger. aid agencies have issued a warning about the plight of syria�*s refugee children, a decade after the nation descended into civil war. the conflict has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and seen millions more displaced inside syria or forced to flee. now on bbc news, under cover of covid, the amazon rainforest is under attack.