welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: the us secretary of state says urgent steps are needed to restore calm between israel and the palestinians after weeks of heightened violence. i comment on all parties to take urgent steps to de—escalate tensions, establish conditions for the security and stability that both israelis and palestinians deserve. three emergency service workers in memphis are sacked following the death of tyre nichols, and another two police officers suspended. a bbc investigation in egypt has revealed how dating apps and online activity are being used to abuse and blackmail people for their sexuality

and gender identity. former brazilian president jair bolsonaro applies for a tourist visa to allow him to extend his stay in the us. and former new zealand rugby international campbelljohnstone becomes the first all black to publicly announce he is gay. the us secretary of state antony blinken has been holding discussions in the middle east to try to resolve the escalating crisis there. mr blinken said urgent steps are needed to restore calm between israelis and palestinians, following days of rising violence. he travelled tojerusalem for talks with israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he'll meet the palestinian leader mahmoud abbas later. our middle east correspondent

tom bateman reports. injerusalem the wreckage is spreading, and another generation grows up in its wake. israel's new far—right police minister is vowing to step up home demolitions of palestinian attackers and their families. ratib�*s home in occupied eastjerusalem was bulldozed yesterday, but it was his brother that did the crime — an islamichhad militant jailed 16 years ago for murder. this has been the worst period of violence in years, and now you have some of the most radical voices in israeli politics in the government calling for more of this for the families of attackers — evictions, expulsions and home demolitions. the un calls it collective punishment, banned under international law. the israeli government says it deters further attacks. the us's top diplomat landed in what he called a pivotal moment.

mr blinken called to preserve the international formula for peace, the so—called two—state solution, but that is a distant and fading ambition. he meets mr netanyahu amid one of the worst periods of violence for years. that's why we are urging all sides to take urgent steps to restore calm, to de—escalate. we want to make sure that there is an environment in which we can, i hope, at some point create the conditions to restore a sense of security for israelis and palestinians alike which is of course sorely lacking. there was also what sounded like a warning from mr blinken, for the israeli government to stick to democratic values amid its plans to boost politicians�* power over the courts. proposals which have sparked mass protests against mr netanyahu's coalition. we share common interests that are growing by the day. we share common values, two strong democracies

which will remain, i assure you, two strong democracies. meanwhile, there were more funerals on monday. a palestinian man was shot dead by israeli forces, one of more than 30 this month alone in the occupied west bank. the army said he drove into a soldier when ordered to stop. while israelis mourned, another of those killed in friday's attack by a palestinian gunman outside a synagogue in ajewish settlement. the international calls for calm are growing but so too are fears of an inevitable slide into far greater violence. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. the fire department in the us city of memphis in tennessee says it has suspended three people in connection with the fatal police beating of tyre nichols.

an investigation found that the first—responders failed to provide him with adequate care. five police officers have been charged with murder over the incident. a further two have been suspended from theirjobs. i spoke to our correspondent david willis who's in los angeles. the circle of discipline has been widening, and two more memphis police officers have now been disciplined in regard to their involvement in that confrontation. they are a white officer, preston hemphill, and another officer whose name and ethnicity have not been revealed. that, on top of the five black officers who were sacked from the force and have subsequently been charged with second—degree murder. now, preston hemphill is said by his lawyer to have fired a taser at tyre nichols, but to have not been present the scene of the second confrontation where the beating

was administered, and that, of course, is perhaps one of the reasons why he has not been charged as yet with a crime. now, the family of tyre nichols, nonetheless, reacted angrily to that news. they say that he has been shielded, this white police officer. why, they are asking, has his involvement only just been released 7 and they are calling for mr hemphill to be fired and charged. david, where does the investigation go from here? well, it is a wide—ranging enquiry, rich, and the memphis police department have said it will be a very thorough, and they made the point that they could be further charges, orfurther disciplinary action, taken in connection with the death of tyre nichols. in line with his family's demand, they have said that despite seeing those images of people administering that

terrible beating to tyre nichols, there were a lot of other officers who were just standing around at the scene, and they believe that by not intervening, they were culpable, and they should be charged as well. now, over the weekend, the memphis police department announced that it was disbanding the special force that these officers were a member of — the scorpion street patrol force — that was set up a few years ago to crack down on street crime in the city of memphis. let's go to south asia now. security has been stepped up in the pakistani capital islamabad after a deadly attack on a mosque in the city of peshawar. nearly 60 people, many of them policemen, were killed and many others injured. the prime minister shehbaz sharif described the bombing as an attack on pakistan itself. the attack has been linked to the pakistan taliban which ended a ceasefire

in november. caroline davis reports from the scene. a violent act that destroyed a place of prayer. the explosion ripped through the mosque in a police compound in peshawar when it was filling up for lunchtime prayers. hundreds were inside. some survivors crawled from the rubble. rescue workers used their bare hands to try to find others. ambulances were still arriving at peshawar�*s lady reading hospital well into the evening. the families who had waited hoping for better news, now distraught, as instead, their loved ones arrived lifeless. inside the hospital, waiting in a corridor, we found zohaib nawaz, his arm in a plaster cast and his back injured. he told us that he remembers a white flash, and was blown five or six feet back by the force of the blast. then the rubble fell on him. he spent more than an hour

trapped beneath it. still in his police uniform, sitting with his wife, javed khan tells us that he had just walked into the mosque when the blast happened. he fell down with the force, and has a severe head injury. it was a hectic situation. there were so many patients, so many attendants who were here, so many injuries who were here. it definitely makes me afraid. i am a human being. these are my brothers and sisters who are here. i do care for them. my heart bleeds for them. people here hav — some of them have severe burns. others have got broken bones from falling rubble. the number of people coming in still keeps rising. the death toll too has been going up. this evening, funeral prayers for the dead. pakistan has seen a growing number of violent attacks by groups who want sharia law implemented in the country. pakistan's army had claimed that they had broken the capabilities of these groups, but today's explosion and the damage it has caused will make many fearful that more attacks are to come. caroline davies,

bbc news, peshawar. let's get some of the day's other news. russia has accused borisjohnson of lying after he claimed vladimir putin threatened him with a missile strike. the former prime minister says president putin told him it would only take a minute during a phone call before the invasion of ukraine last february. the claims are made in a new bbc documentary. the uk prime minister rishi sunak has denied claims that he was slow to act over allegations about nadhim zahawi's tax affairs after sacking him as conservative party chairman. mr sunak said he had acted decisively when mr zahawi was found to have broken the ministerial code. peru's congress is delaying a vote on whether to bring forward elections to october. the proposal, brought foward by president dina boluarte, follows weeks of violent protests following the impeachment of her predessesor. the proposalfor snap elections, seen as key

to ending the political crisis, was rejected by congress two days ago. the last—ever commercial boeing 7a7 jumbo jet will be delivered to atlas air on tuesday. it's the cargo version of the distinctive jet. forfive decades it's been the most successful passenger plane ever built, and is affectionately known as the queen of the skies. it first took off in 1970. the former president of braziljair bolsonaro has applied for a tourist visa which would allow him to remain in the united states for another six months. mr bolsonaro entered the us on a month—long diplomatic visa when he left brazil in december shortly before his term ended. he's received hospital treatment during his stay in florida, and faces numerous investigations in brazil. earlier, i spoke to pedro abramovay, the executive director for open society foundations for latin america and caribbean. i asked him why he thinks mr bolsonaro wants to stay

in the us. i think mainly he wants to stay away from brazil. especially, i mean, he left brazil at the end of his presidency, passing the sash to president lula, the presidential sash, and stayed there and now that many inquiries and trials are starting to start, or continue against him, i think he has good reasons to avoid getting back to brazil. the good reasons to avoid getting back to brazil.— back to brazil. the biden administration _ back to brazil. the biden administration has - back to brazil. the biden administration has been | administration has been critical of mr bolsonaro. it has deemed him responsible for what happened in brazil. the riots that we saw a month or so ago. do you think you will be granted this visa? i ago. do you think you will be

granted this visa?— ago. do you think you will be granted this visa? i don't want to auess granted this visa? i don't want to guess in _ granted this visa? i don't want to guess in this _ granted this visa? i don't want to guess in this case _ granted this visa? i don't want to guess in this case but - granted this visa? i don't want to guess in this case but it - granted this visa? i don't want to guess in this case but it is i to guess in this case but it is true that in the us, someone like bolsonaro that comes from a country like brazil that is causing damage to brazilian democracy, from florida, is something that is definitely not comfortable for the us. i think florida has been many times a source of instability for latin america and i think maintaining bolsonaro, reinforced his idea that the instability from the region comes from the united states and i do think that is something that the us demonstration would like to maintain. , , demonstration would like to maintain-— demonstration would like to maintain. , , ., maintain. this is a six-month visa. it maintain. this is a six-month visa- it is _ maintain. this is a six-month visa. it is not _ maintain. this is a six-month visa. it is not a _ maintain. this is a six-month visa. it is not a permanent i visa. it is not a permanent visa. people ultimately have to go back to brazil. what sort of reception will he get when he returns? �* ., , ., reception will he get when he returns? �* . , ., , returns? brazil is a very polarised _ returns? brazil is a very polarised country. - returns? brazil is a very polarised country. he . returns? brazil is a very i polarised country. he got returns? brazil is a very - polarised country. he got 4996 polarised country. he got 49% of the votes of fort president. so, there is an important support. it is true that since

the election it has been much quieter than he used to be — the rhetorical, the lies that he would do normally. he is not doing. some say he is depressed. he has not recognised the outcomes of the election. he has not continued to give his speeches. but he has silently or quietly endorsed the coup attempts and the demonstrations that clearly attempted against brazilian democracy. part of his supporters are deceived that he is not maintaining the same level of violent rhetorical, but the is a course of orders quite significant, maybe a third, maybe a little more of the population, that will definitely welcome him back, and of course, there is the majority of the population that voted against him, and will be really opposing not only his presence in brazil but mainly

the fact that he is trying to avoid meeting withjustice, which i think is his obligation right now. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: former new zealand rugby international campbelljohnstone on why he has decided to announce publicly that he is gay. this is the moment that millions in iran have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid, and the anc leader nelson mandela is to be set free unconditionally. mission control: three, two, one. a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, slashing the cost of a launch, that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel.

two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it, "a piece of cake." thousands of people have given l the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming - in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record . for sailing solo _ around the world, non—stop. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the us secretary of state, antony blinken, says urgent steps are needed to restore calm between israel and the palestinians after weeks of heightened violence. three emergency service workers in memphis have been sacked following the death of tyre nichols and another two police officers suspended. a bbc investigation has revealed how violent criminal gangs in egypt are tracking,

abusing and extorting people from the lgbtq community they meet online. it also shows how police are using the same dating apps to seek out and arrest lgbtq people. ahmed shihab—eldin reports, and a warning that this report contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing from the start. a group of friends ambushed by someone they thought they could trust, naked, terrified, and forced to dance at knife—point. the whole humiliating ordeal was filmed and posted online. it was viewed more than 2 million times. these are the victims of gangs targeting lgbtq people in egypt. translation: they were the most disgusting six hours of my life. i could have died. i was scared to death. leila, who identifies as transgender, was in the video. sharing her story with us is risky, so she has chosen

a 3d face tracking mask to conceal her identity. we have also changed her name. being exposed as transgender leaves leila open to targeting by the police. there is no explicit law against homosexuality in egypt. but our investigation has found that the law against debauchery originally a sex work charge is being used to criminalise the lgbtq community. queer is an offensive word to some, but for the people i spoke to, it was their preferred term to describe their sexual orientation or gender identity. any positive depiction of homosexuality is banned in the media here. on this call—in show on state tv, the presenter tells a mother worried about her gay son that he needs treatment. this stigma and the way the law is being used leaves people like leila vulnerable to attack. by interviewing other victims and through online research,

we were able to confirm the identity of one of the leaders of the gang. his name is yahia. he is the man with the knife in the video. we have evidence that his gang has carried out at least four similar attacks. sahid is just 18 and another of yahia's victims. translation: he asked for money, which i didn't have, so he called my parents and the video spread all around egypt. he wanted to report the attack to the police, but his lawyer advised him against it. translation: he said, "both of you will be jailed." because i am a gay man and because he stole. he said his offence isn't as big as mine in egyptian society. we found the police themselves have been impersonating users on dating apps to find and arrest members of the lg btq community. we have been given exclusive access to extraordinary police transcripts and investigation records that show in detail exactly how street level police

are targeting people online. have you slept with men before? yes. how about we meet? but i live with mum and dad. come on, dear, don't be shy. we can meet in public and then go to my flat. in some of the exchanges, the police seem to be pressuring people into offering sex for money. but in others, there is no mention of any financial transaction, so the transcripts appear to show evidence that people are being arrested for their sexuality. police forces in egypt receive training from the uk via the un. the egyptian interior ministry did not respond to the bbc�*s request for comment. yahia denied involvement in any attacks. lgbtq people in egypt are forced to hide their sexuality to survive. leila and sahid hope their stories can help break the silence. ahmed shihab—eldin, bbc news.

and you can watch the full investigation on bbc iplayer, just search for the title and you will find the full investigation there. it has links to the documentary, queer under attack. which has links. cindy williams — who played shirley feeney in iconic 1970s sitcom laverne & shirley — has died at the age of 75. a statement from her family said she passed away in los angeles on wednesday following a brief illness. williams career spanned six decades, but it was her role on the happy days spin—off laverne & shirley that endeared her to millions and made her a household name. the city of auckland in new zealand is seeing more rain days after what the city mayor called a once—in—a—century flood. at least four people have died and hundreds more have been made homeless. large parts of the city were inundated with three—quarters of the usual summer rainfall injust 15 hours.

sofia bettiza reports. it was the wettest day on record for new zealand's largest city. last friday a storm swept across auckland causing majorflooding. people had to flee their homes as many houses were badly damaged. streets were swamped. and this train came off its tracks. this is new zealand's national state flooded with water. at least four people have died and 350 need emergency accommodation. and now more bad news for auckland, new zealand's weather authority has issued a red heavy rain warning for the region. it's the highest level reserved for extreme events. my focus and the focus of central government is supporting auckland through what is still a big challenging ahead of them.

there's a big clean—up to go. we know through forecasts that there is more bad weather ahead. climate changes causing episodes of heavy rainfall to become more common and more intense in new zealand. and with heavy rains forecast in various parts of the city for at least the next five days auckland remains under a state of emergency. new zealand's first all blacks rugby player has publicly come out as gay. 43—year—old campbelljohnstone was a prop who played in three test matches in 2005 and in an interview with tvnz said he hoped coming out would take away the pressure and stigma surrounding the issue. earlier on i spoke with a new zealand lgbt activist shaneel lal, who says a moment like this has been a long time coming for new zealand rugby.

this is significant for so many reasons. the rugby union team was established 131 years ago and the rugby sevens team was established 50 years ago, and in that time only one rugby player has come out as gay, that should tell you how difficult it is for gay men to play rugby in new zealand. there must have been many gay men who have played rugby as all blacks but they were never afforded the safety to come out. just a few months ago, seven rugby players in australia refused to play a rugby game because they were asked to play rugby in a jersey that had rainbow stripes on it. discrimination against gay men is widespread in new zealand. this is groundbreaking because despite what our community has endured, we are here. for those watching around the world, talk to others about the rugby culture in new zealand. how much does it perminate society? how big a deal is this? people live and breathe rugby in new zealand. 50,000 people sell out our stadiums to watch our players play.

we adore them, they make us proud. they are a sign of our national identity, but the team itself has become exclusive to cis gender, heterosexual men. since campbell coming out i have heard many people say, "i do not care that he is gay, as long as he is a good player." the reality is, they do care, any time all blacks get married they are pictured on the cover of a magazine with their wife. we are constantly reminded of the heteronormative family unit that we have to live up to. it is no longer the universal reality for new zealanders and living up to it has been quite debilitating for many people. before we go it looks like a teddy bear face on surface of mars. the image was captured last night by high advise which has been circling mars since

2016. the face is 2,000m wide and gives those studying it a hint that the surface was once active. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. hello there. most of us had a fine day on monday with plenty of sunshine around. it is arguably one of the best days weather—wise we'll see this week, with the sunshine and relatively mild air. did tend to cloud over in the west later in the day. and that's a cloud is all associated with an area of low pressure. this up near iceland in the north atlantic. look at this weather front wrapped round and round and round the centre of the deep low, kind of like water going down a plughole. now, this low is going to influence our weather because the weather fronts are associated with that low, even though it's over 1,000 miles away. all those fronts are actually dangling across the uk, a warm front followed by a cold front. so we've got a bit of rain from that feature. here comes the cold front southwards over the next few hours, bringing a little bit of rain across parts of england

and wales, showers following into the north—west. now, although we did have an early dip in temperatures in the nights down to about freezing, actually, temperatures by dawn coming up about seven or eight degrees pretty widely. and it's tuesday morning, the dregs of that weather system clearing the south pretty quickly. any rain, light and patchy. sunshine follows. a few showers into the north west of england and wales, but the majority of the day showers for northern ireland and scotland, where some of the showers will be falling as snow in the mountains about 500 metres elevation. so for the most part should be above the road network, really. not expecting any major problems. it's going to be a windy day wherever you are, but particularly so in scotland, with gusts of wind reaching around 50 or 60 miles an hour, and the winds get even stronger than that as we go through tuesday night. the iceland low passes close to the faroe islands, just kind of squeezes the isobars and give us wind gusts of 70 or even 80 miles an hour across parts of northern scotland. those winds could be disruptive then for a time, still very windy across these northern areas into wednesday

before the winds start to ease down a little bit later in the day, it will still be pretty blowy. we've got a warm front that is going to be bringing some rain wednesday across northern ireland into south—west scotland, northwestern parts of england and wales, quite a bit of cloud elsewhere, a few breaks, but mild weather. temperatures 11 degrees across the south. and then looking at the weather picture later in the week, we've got relatively mild air coming around the top side of this area of high pressure. so, weather—wise, well, for many of us, it's going to be largely dry, probably quite a lot of cloud around and staying quite breezy. but look at these temperatures, 12 degrees for a time. for reference in london this time of the year, the average is about seven. bye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the us secretary of state says urgent steps are needed to restore calm between israel and the palestinians after weeks of heightened violence. antony blinken was speaking after talks in israel with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he stressed the importance of a two—state solution to bring peace and security. the fire department in the us city of memphis says it has suspended three people in connection with the death of tyre nichols. five police officers have been fired and charged with murder over the incident. a further two have been suspended from their roles. security has been stepped up in the pakistani capital islamabad after a deadly attack on a mosque in the city of peshawar.

at least 59 people, many of them policemen, were killed and many others injured.