this is bbc news. i'm lucy grey with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. memphis police disbands the so—called scorpion special unit whose officers are accused of murdering tyre nichols. israel's prime minister promises a "strong, swift and precise" response to the deadly attack on a synagogue in eastjerusalem. a former head of the czech republic's armed forces wins the race to be the country's next president. and meet the new queen of melbourne — aryna sabalenka wins the australian open women's final.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. the memphis police department in the united states has disbanded the so—called scorpion special unit whose officers are accused of murdering tyre nichols. the 29—year—old black man was kicked and punched by five policemen, who are also black. they've now been sacked and face multiple charges, including murder. a warning, nada tawfik�*s report from memphis contains some distressing images. justice for tyre! the familiar rallying cry heard too often after incidents of police brutality. memphis�*s worst fears never materialised, as protesters remained peaceful. a considered effort by city officials to deliver swift justice for tyre nichols seems to have worked. small—scale demonstrations took place across the country — from new york to detroit and los angeles — mostly calm, just as the family wanted.

five black officers have been charged with murder in the death of tyre nichols, in no small part due to the existence of these extremely graphic videos. the officers aggressively approach his car after a traffic stop. taken aback, the 29—year—old black motorist is heard protesting his innocence. i didn't do anything! he seems to comply... i'm on the ground. ..but as this encounter continues, mr nichols breaks away and flees. when they find him, they repeatedly kick him in the head, strike him with a baton and punch him. in distress, he calls out for his mother. tyre nichols was ultimately taken to the hospital in a critical condition and died three days laterfrom his injuries. today in memphis, people again took to the streets, deeply affected by what they saw in the video. this is horrific. we are traumatised by it.

but i applaud the city and the people here today who have gone about trying to correct this in an orderly way. this is an attack on human rights, this is an attack on the rights of black americans. and, you know, this shows the true nature of policing. the mood here today is sombre. additional rallies are planned for later, where grief counsellors will be on hand for residents. and accountability is still key. in fact, after the video's release, the shelby county sheriff announced two other deputies who responded to this scene have now been relieved of duty. how can you look at that footage and not want to do something? at a press conference saturday, state lawmakers said they plan to introduce legislation aimed at police training. if a dog in this country was beaten like that, what the hell would happen? you all know what would happen. if the dog is beaten like that, somebody�*s going to jail. now you got a man that's dead. these disturbing videos have reignited concerns about the culture of

policing in america. the need for police reform is once again at the forefront of people's minds. nada tawfik, bbc news. our north america correspondent barbara plett usher told me more about scorpion, the now disbanded police unit. the scorpions is a unit of about 30 police officers divided into three teams that target violent offenders in high—crime areas, and some of the members were involved in the beating of tyre nichols that we saw in that video that was released last night. the police chief has been under pressure to disband the unit and she resisted it. she put it on hold, but she said she did not want to disband it because of an egregious act like the beating of mr nichols, that it still did important work. but since then, she said she has been speaking with his family members, she's been speaking with community leaders, she's been speaking officers who are not involved with the unit, and she agreed that

because of the heinous act, it was a good idea to disband it. a cloud of dishonour had come upon it and she said she wanted to take proactive steps for healing and that all the officers who were in the unit had agreed unreservedly that it should be disbanded. so that's quite welcome news for the people who have been attending rallies today. that's one of the things that they have been demanding, amongst other things, on police reform. also, the family has been calling for that, and one of their lawyers, the civil rights lawyer benjamin crump, has welcomed the action, and he said that this should also take place in other cities which have similar units. and can you tell us a bit more about what the politicians have been talking about, in terms of what they want to see? you mentioned the police training, but in terms of what change they want to see? yes, a number of local politicians involved in the state legislature gave a press conference this morning from the democratic party, and they said that they were going to propose or introduce

legislation on police reform in the state legislature. they were a bit vague on the details of exactly what it would entail, but they were looking at things like bias and training and that sort of thing, and they said that they felt they might be able to get support of the republicans, who have the majority in the state legislature, because of the horrific images in the footage, so they want to push forward with some kind of legislation, they said, that would legislate humanity into the police force. and there is, as nada was reporting, a renewed attention on police reform. of course, that was quite a big topic after the killing of george floyd in 2020, and some steps were taken then to try and restrict the use of force, but people are talking a lot more... they did then, but are talking

a lot more now also about the whole culture of how police are trained, the bias that there might be in the force, and looking at whether that can be addressed. barbara plett usher for us there in memphis. seft hunter, with activist group community change, told me what he made of the action taken by the authorities. certainly i think what we saw in this case is much more swift action then we have seen in other cases, right? and in part, in previous cases, often times what happens is a level of secrecy is maintained, sometimes for weeks or months, certainly the officers are rarely fired this quickly, and part of what we see in this case is that municipalities can act more quickly than often times we see in other cases. and so in part, like, this actually should set a standard of accountability, it should not be dragged out as we have seen in other cases wherein sometimes families are waiting for months and weeks without even seeing the footage, and certainly

we are waiting sometimes months or even years before accountability is ever introduced in these cases, and so definitely what we are seeing in this case is much more swift action, and i think in many ways it should set a standard for the level of accountability that we see when police step outside the lines, when they deny the humanity of citizens. and so this actually is welcome news by the part of the community. that's actually what the family of tyre nichols was saying yesterday, weren't they? they said it should act any blueprint for other cases, and it was almost implied that they wanted to see, when these were cases with white officers involved with a black victim, they wanted to see such swift action as well. how do you feel on that front? you think that there is anything behind that sort of implication there? yeah, and i would have to take a step back, because in part, we know that there is a culture

of secrecy that exists around police, right? we saw in this video five officers denying the humanity of tyre nichols, and in many ways, we would have to assume that they thought that there would be no accountability for them. they thought that they could actually take these actions with impunity, and i think that offers an interesting view into the culture of police, and in essence, when you look at what police believe that they are able to do, how they are able to act, the level of violence that they are able to impose on citizens in routine traffic stops, that has to be something that is actually considered here. it is impossible, it is impossible to overlook the level of humanity that was denied tyre in this case. it was reported that it was roughly around 80 yards from his home. part of his last words was him crying out for his mother, and that to me,

as a new father, that is just the most haunting, the most horrifying example of what it means to be denied one's humanity. when you look at the video, you hear the officers checking on each other after beating tyre for three whole minutes. they are offering each other to put eyewash in their eyes, they are asking each other, "hey, have you found your eyeglasses?" so the level of humanity that they've extended themselves, they did not seek to extend to tyre in what is described as a routine traffic stop. that to me has to be something that is really centred in this conversation. what is impossible to overlook is that the culture of modern—day policing, certainly in the united states, is characterised by aggression and violence, and that is on incredible display for all to see in this case. seft hunter from community change. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has promised a "strong, swift and precise" response to an attack by a palestinian gunman outside a synagogue

that killed seven people and injured many others. it happened yesterday in a jewish settlement in occupied eastjerusalem and came amid rising tensions in the region. today, two israelis were shot and injured close to the old city by a 13—year—old boy. here's our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. another victim of a jerusalem shooting being treated by medics. an israeli father and son were injured in a new attack this morning. the suspect is just 13. he's said to be the relative of another teenager shot dead by israeli forces this week. meanwhile, this was the scene of yesterday's shooting attack — the deadliest israelis have seen in years. here, a palestinian gunman opened fire after prayers in a packed synagogue at the start of the jewish sabbath. as people rushed over to those injured, one witness said they were shot too. translation: a guy - stopped here to help them. he went out of his car and was

hit by a bullet in his head. he died here, next to me, and his son was hit by a bullet in his back. after police shot dead the attacker, israeli politicians were quick to visit the scene. the veteran prime minister benjamin netanyahu has since promised to take immediate action. translation: iwill submit to the security council - additional steps in the fight against terrorism. this includes significantly hastening and expediting the licensing of weapons for authorised civilians. as we have seen time and again, this saves lives. 0n the streets ofjerusalem tonight, emotions are running high. the israelis stopped cars in palestinian neighbourhoods, here shouting "arabs, beware, hebrew blood isn't cheap." tensions had risen sharply after the deadliest israeli military raid in the occupied west bank in years.

on thursday, nine palestinians, including two civilians, were killed. the israeli armed forces say they were acting on intelligence to prevent islamichhad fighters carrying out major attacks. in response, palestinian militants fired rockets from the gaza strip. in recent months, amid rising violence, there have been repeated international calls for calm here. but they've had little impact. and now, once again, fears are growing of wider unrest. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. aaron david miller, senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace, spoke to me earlier about the current level of tension. you have had a perfect storm gathering now for several years. it is driven by a 56—year—old military occupation of the west bank, a palestinian authority that is losing credit ability on the streets and loss

of control in many respects in many areas. armed groups independent or affiliate with hamas continuing to plan attacks. and the onset of a new israeli government, the most fun to mentalist and right wing in the history of israel, that is asserting exclusive and questioned claim to the west bank and jerusalem. so i think evenif bank and jerusalem. so i think even if you find a way out of this, and i suspect they're probably still is a way to de—escalate, sooner or later, you're going to be in for another explosion. what do you make of what _ another explosion. what do you make of what benjamin - another explosion. what do you i make of what benjamin netanyahu has said today about responding to this and doing harm to those who have done us harm and the risk of an escalation further now? �* ,., . , risk of an escalation further now? �* ., ., now? all politics are local, and the — now? all politics are local, and the prime _ now? all politics are local, and the prime minister - now? all politics are local, and the prime minister is i and the prime minister is managing a very difficult coalition. some of the cabinet

ministers have called for harsher measures. the prime minister, i think, harsher measures. the prime minister, ithink, is harsher measures. the prime minister, i think, is trying to do what he can to deflect. there is no doubt these rooms are going to respond more aggressively. demolishing the homes of the gunmen, and even considering introducing legislation to deport those jerusalem nights residents who are family members to the west bank. it is not going to stop what is clearly a determined effort, it seems to me, to continue the violence and terror. the problem is there is no chance right now of a political horizon, and this government is simply unwilling and unable, to articulate one him and that is the challenge that secretary of state blinken faces when he arrives in israel. in

state blinken faces when he arrives in israel.— arrives in israel. in terms of the outside _ arrives in israel. in terms of the outside influence - arrives in israel. in terms of the outside influence on - the outside influence on events, we have seen a lot of engagement from the biden administration with this new government in israel. you've worked for both sides, republicans and democrats the state department. what would you be advising antony blinken to say or do in the next couple days when he goes to visit? there's a certain here. whatever reality there was before the visit has dissipated as a result of the terror attack —— a certain reality here. if we are lucky, you would be able to temper the israeli response to some degree, and of course he is going to engage with palestinian president mahmoud abbas, now in the 18th year of a four year term, abbas, now in the 18th year of a fouryearterm, in abbas, now in the 18th year of a four year term, in an effort to get him to re—engage with the israelis on security cooperation on the something that he has suspended over the last 48 hours. i think the painful and cruel reality is that israelis and palestinians are in a strategic cul—de—sac,

and there really does not appear to be any long—term solution that both would accept to find a way out of it, so i suspect even if we can get the situation to calm down, the situation to calm down, the situation here is going to get worse before it gets worse. aaron david miller there, talking to me earlier. let's look at some of the day's other news. at least 24 people have died in peru when a bus plunged off a cliff in the north—western province of piura, on its way to a town near the border with ecuador carrying 60 passengers. differing accounts have emerged of a ukrainian missile strike on a hospital in an occupied part of the eastern lu ha nsk province. moscow says a rocket strike killed 14 and injured 24 people. it said the hospital was used to treat civilians and military, and that medics were among the casualties. dozens of russian troops were killed, according to the regional governor. donald trump has launched his 2024 re—election campaign. speaking in new hampshire, he declared he was "more committed than ever".

he accused the biden administration of running america into the ground. mr trump remains the only declared presidential candidate so far for next year's presidential election. in portugal, thousands of teachers and other school staff have gathered in lisbon for the latest demonstration in a long—running dispute over pay and careers. protesters have massed outside the education ministry which has hosted fruitless talks in recent weeks. a former head of the armed forces in the czech republic, petr pavel, will be the country's next president. with almost all ballots counted in the election, pavel won 58% of the vote, defeating the former prime minister and billionaire businessman, andrej babis. the new president is a firm supporter of nato — which he served as a general — and the european union. the bbc�*s rob cameron told us a bit more about the winning candidate. petr pavel is a decorated war hero for his service in the war in the former yugoslavia.

he's the former head of the czech armed forces and he's the former head of the nato military committee. so a military man down to his bones, a retired general now. and many people said that surely czechs would never elect someone who spent so long in uniform and to be the head of state? but he is also, more importantly, a liberal who is in favour of same—sex marriage, he firmly supports the czech republic's adoption of the euro. so he has his liberal values. and as you played in that clip there, he said this election was a victory for truth, a victory for honour, dignity. so those are the kinds of values that he has persuaded the czechs to vote for this election and give a very resounding endorsement, not only to him and those values, but a resounding defeat for andrej babis. rob cameron reporting.

police in the north—east of england are questioning a 16—year—old boy on suspicion of murder after a 15—year—old girl was stabbed to death. the attack happened on a street in the town of hexham. a 16—year—old boy was also taken to hospital, but his injuries aren't thought to be life threatening. northumbria police say the boy in custody and the victims knew each other. the former prime minister borisjohnson was reportedly told to stop asking richard sharp for "advice" about his "personal financial matters," just days before mr sharp was announced as the new chairman of the bbc. according to the sunday times, mrjohnson was warned by officials in december 2020. mr sharp became chair injanuary 202i. earlier, our political correspondent iain watson gave us more details. the sunday times ran this story, in effect, last week, but what they have done this week is published a leaked memo from the cabinet office, the people who advise the prime minister on propriety and ethics. that memo comes from december 2020, so it was a couple of weeks before the announcement of richard sharp as the bbc

chairman, and it is offering strong advice to the then prime minister boris johnson. it tells him to "no longer" ask for advice on his financial affairs from mr sharp. now, this would then, you would assume, tend to suggest that perhaps that advice had been sought in the period when richard sharp was a contender to become bbc chairman. but as far as richard sharp was concerned, he had said at the time when this story first broke a week ago that his role has simply been to introduce a wealthy canadian businessman called sam blyth to the country's most senior civil servant, to discuss how he could assist the prime minister financially. he had no knowledge, he said, of the financial arrangements. and in a letter to bbc staff, he said he didn't guarantee any loans himself and he didn't get involved in any financing, although mr blyth did turn out to guarantee a loan worth £800,000.

following the publication of this leaked memo, as i understand it, mr sharp's position hasn't changed. his position is still insisting that he was not a financial adviser in any way to borisjohnson — he was, of course, a former banker. borisjohnson�*s spokesman is also saying he never sought nor received any financial advice from mr sharp. as to the cabinet office themselves, where this memo originated, they are refusing to comment. 0ur political correspondent iain watson. tennis, and belarusian aryna sabalenka is celebrating her first grand slam title after winning the australian open in melbourne. on sunday, it's the men's turn, with a showdown between novak djokovic and greek star stefanos tsitsipas, who — like sabalenka — is hoping for a maiden grand slam win. ben rothenberg, host of "no challenges remaining" podcast, is with us. thanks very much for coming on. a deserved win for sabalenka? absolutely. she played one of the best matches of her life on

one the biggest stages. she has been knocking on the door, consolidate her talent. she has been a top ten player for about five years now ended his first grand slam title and she really rose to the occasion. she plays a pretty high—risk, high reward game, but she managed to have her number of winners, 51, be way ahead of her number of errors, 28. seize the moment really well, against a really game competitor, against elena rybakina. she game competitor, against elena r bakina. ,, , ,, rybakina. she was sipping champagne _ rybakina. she was sipping champagne afterwards, i rybakina. she was sipping - champagne afterwards, talking about eating pizza and sweets later. she seems to be taking it all in her stride. absolutely, she is an exuberant personality, so the celebration will be a lot for her. has had a lot of setbacks in his appointments, so this is her relief at getting this long—awaited grand slam title which is definitely deserving

of celebration, and i think is going to keep going for herfor quite a few days at least. qm. quite a few days at least. 0k, and the attention _ quite a few days at least. 0k, and the attention turned to the men's final, sunday. is there any chance of the underdog stefanos tsitsipas having the victory? stefanos tsitsipas having the victo ? , ., , stefanos tsitsipas having the victo ? ,., ., victory? there is always a chance for _ victory? there is always a chance for sure. - victory? there is always a chance for sure. tsitsipas| victory? there is always a l chance for sure. tsitsipas is victory? there is always a - chance for sure. tsitsipas is a very strong contender for this title. he is someone who has beenin title. he is someone who has been in the mix before. they played one previous grand slam final, the 2021 grand —— french open. tsitsipas has been play well in the treatment and you never know with djokovic, in terms of all the stuff swirling around him, the stuff swirling around him, the stuff last year in australia, the stuff this week with his father getting caught up in the progression or rally on the ground. you don't know how much that will take a toll on him. all of that will make it interesting. i do think that djokovic is a preclear favourite, but anything can happen, for sure. if

favourite, but anything can happen, for sure.— favourite, but anything can happen, for sure. if he falls, he can fall — happen, for sure. if he falls, he can fall back— happen, for sure. if he falls, he can fall back on _ happen, for sure. if he falls, he can fall back on the - happen, for sure. if he falls, he can fall back on the fact i he can fall back on the fact that he has 21 grand slams, and he has never lost in a final, has he?— has he? nine for nine in finals. _ has he? nine for nine in finals. he _ has he? nine for nine in finals, he has _ has he? nine for nine in finals, he has been - has he? nine for nine in | finals, he has been great has he? nine for nine in - finals, he has been great ever and that is his best place so far. getting ten there would be meaningful, to get double digits at a grand slam, and would also tie him with the most grand slam finals for men, with roughly on a doll, with 22. y ., , , with roughly on a doll, with 22. , , ., 22. do you believe he is not bothered — 22. do you believe he is not bothered about _ 22. do you believe he is not bothered about that? - 22. do you believe he is not bothered about that? no! i 22. do you believe he is not| bothered about that? no! -- rafael nadal. _ bothered about that? no! -- rafael nadal. he _ bothered about that? no! -- rafael nadal. he said - bothered about that? no! -- rafael nadal. he said at - bothered about that? no! --| rafael nadal. he said at other points in his career he is ambitious toward those records, but no reason to apply more pressure on. but no reason to apply more pressure om— pressure on. great stuff, thanks for— pressure on. great stuff, thanks forjoining - pressure on. great stuff, thanks forjoining us. - pressure on. great stuff, - thanks forjoining us. thanks very much. plenty more on that on the bbc sport website. plenty on the website. i am on twitter if you want to get me.

thanks very much for watching. hello. after an uneventful first half of the weekend weather—wise, sunday does look set to bring something a little livelier, with some stronger winds and some outbreaks of rain for some, particularly across the northern half of the uk. the reason — an area of low pressure pushing to the north of scotland, this frontal system which will eventually bring some outbreaks of rain. and plenty of isobars on the chart. that always shows that we will have some brisk winds. so a breezier day, really, across the board. a lot of cloud to start off in the south of england and south wales. some of that will break up, and actually for england and wales, we will see some spells of sunshine through the day. but winds really picking up across parts of northern england, particularly gusty conditions over the pennines and just to the east

of the pennines as well. rather windy for this north coast of northern ireland and more broadly across scotland. strongest winds of all in the far north of scotland, gusting to 65 miles per hour. and this band of rain here pushing its way southwards and eastwards. but just ahead of that, a particularly mild feel, 12 or 13 degrees in parts of eastern scotland, and actually a fairly mild day generally. now, as we go through sunday night, we'll push this band of cloud and rain southwards. much of the rain will fizzle. behind it, a mix of clear spells and showers with some slightly colder air tucking in. some of the showers could be wintry over high ground in scotland. it probably will be too windy for us to see anything much, though, in the way of frost. and then into monday, we see this little bump in the isobars here, this little ridge of high pressure building its way in. so that means, actually, plenty of dry weather, some spells of sunshine. those early showers in the north—east should tend to ease off, but we will bring more cloud in from the west as the day wears on. a little bit of rain with that, temperatures of 8, 9 or 10 degrees. now, as we look ahead to tuesday, we will see some spells of sunshine. but particularly

through northern england, northern ireland and scotland, there will be some showers, these falling as sleet or snow over high ground, but perhaps even to low levels in parts of scotland, where the winds will once again be strengthening. very gusty conditions the further north you are through tuesday afternoon. temperatures north to south, 7 to 12 degrees. and then as we head into tuesday night, well, there's uncertainty about the detail of this, but we could well see a really deep area of low pressure pushing close to the north of scotland. and that could bring some very windy, even stormy, conditions for some, particularly in the far north.

this is bbc news — the headlines... the memphis police department has disbanded the so—called scorpion special unit — whose officers are accused of murdering tyre nichols. the 29 —year—old black man was kicked and punched by five policemen — who are also black. they've now been sacked and face multiple charges — including murder. a special meeting of israel's security cabinet has approved measures in response to the killing of seven people outside a synagogue in eastjerusalem by a palestinian gunman. family members of attackers are set to lose their residency and health insurance rights. stripping their citizenship will need new legislation. the former nato general who'll be the next czech president has described the election outcome as a victory for the values of truth, dignity, respect and humility. in a speech to cheering supporters in prague —

petr pavel said it was time to return those