this is 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. it's a 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. security is stepped up in pakistan after at least 59 people are killed in a bomb attack on a mosque in peshawar. —— 83 people.

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. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. 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 to jerusalem 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. this 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. this is 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, start to 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 are 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 their roles a little earlier our north america correspondent david willis, who's in los angeles, gave me this update. on friday that the pictures were released, of course, 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 at 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, 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 get some of the day's other news. priscilla presley, the ex—wife of elvis, has filed a legal challenge to the validity of her daughter lisa marie's will. lisa marie presley, the couple's only child, died at the age of 5a earlier this month. the court petition disputes a 2016 amendment which removes priscilla and business manager barry siegel as co—trustees of the estate. 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 predecessor. the proposalfor snap elections, seen as key to ending the political crisis, was rejected by congress two days ago. the liberian president george weah has announced he will run for re—election later this year. the former international footballer took office in 2018 in what was the first peaceful change of power in seven decades. but his term has been marred with allegations of corruption, and popular discontent following an economic downturn. the last—ever commercial boeing 7117 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. security has been stepped up

in the pakistani capital islamabad after a deadly attack on a mosque in the city of peshawar. 83 people are now known to have died in the attack. many of them police officers. 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 davies 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 have, 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. dr asfandyar mir from the us institute for peace in washington dc has been giving me his take on why we're seeing a resurgence of violence in pakistan. this is one of the more devastating attacks to have taken place in pakistan in recent years, in particular, against pakistani security forces. the pakistani police along the north—west border of the country have been under the gun. there has been a lot of violence, attacks against them, but this attack, killing nearly 65—70 police

officers and soldiers, marks a real escalation, and i think it will have a real demoralising effect on the police, which has been under a lot of pressure, and it also suggests that the insurgent forces of the pakistani taliban are looking to step up their fight against the pakistani state. the pakistani taliban that you mentioned there, the ttp, there has been a bit of a back—and—forth over whether they were responsible for this. what is the evidence suggesting, and what do you think — if they are indeed behind it — that they are looking to achieve? initially, we heard from two seniorish leaders of the ttp, from a particularfaction of the ttp who accepted responsibility for this attack. they said that this attack was revenge for the killing of one of their top leaders, commanders, in eastern afghanistan last year. later on, the central leadership of the ttp disassociated itself from the attack, and said

that the ttp was not behind it. so, that suggests there is some internal tension, and not a lot of co—ordination. perhaps targeting is decentralised. so, some internal dysfunction there, but there is no question at this point that at least parts of the ttp were behind this attack. this is a big year for pakistan. it is an election year. talk to us about the challenges when it comes to securing the country and keeping the country secure. the deteriorating security situation comes at a time when pakistan is facing major economic headwinds. some might even describe the economy as in a state of free—fall collapse, perhaps. there is a lot of talk of pakistan defaulting in the near term. there is a lot of political

dysfunction, a lot of political drama, a lot of controversy between the major political parties — the ruling party, the main party, and the opposition, led by cricketer—turned—politician imran khan, as well as the military, so this security deterioration comes at a very bad time when pakistan is looking very vulnerable, economically and politically, and i am afraid that more of this is on the cards. i fear that the forces of the ttp are looking to keep up this rate of violence, which would put a lot of pressure on the pakistani government. 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 worldl record for sailing solo around the world, non—stop.

this is bbc world 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. micro stay in the americas now. the former president of brazil, jair 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 until the end of his presidency to avoid passing the sash to the president miller, the president sells sash, now trials are beginning to start, all continue against him. i think he has good reasons to avoid getting back to brazil. the biden administration has been pretty critical of mr bolsonaro, it has deemed responsible for what happened in brazil, those riots that we saw a month or so ago, do you think you will be granted this visa? i mean, i don't want to guess in this case but, yes, it is true, for the united states to have bolsonaro, someone that comes from our country, a country like brazil that is causing so much damage to brazilian democracy from florida is something, it is nothing comfortable for the us. i think florida has been, many times, a source of instability for latin america and i think maintaining scenario for the idea

of instability for the region, it comes from the united states, that is not something i think the us administration would like to maintain. this is a six—month visa, not a permanent visa, he will ultimately have to go back to brazil, what kind of reception will he get when he returns? bolsonaro. .. brazil is a very polarised country, he got 49% of the vote for president, so there is an important support. it is true that since the electoral day he has been much quieter than he used to be. he is to have weekly lives, he is not doing, some say

it is the press, they happened recognise the outcome of the election, he hasn't continue to give these speeches, but he has silently or quietly endorsed the coup attempts and demonstrations, the clear attempts against brazilian democracy, so part of his supporters i think are frustrated orfeeling deceived and not maintaining government at this level but the truth is there are of course supporters, significant, maybe a third or more of the population that will definitely welcome him back, and our course there's the majority of the population that voted against him that will be, you know, really opposing not only has presence in brazil but mainly the fact that he is trying to avoid meeting withjustice, which i think he is doing right now.

the french government says it will return an ivorian ceremonial drum, which is more than a century old, to its home in west africa. the djidji ayokwe was used to send warning messages up to 30 kilometres around villages in ivory coast. it is emblematic of the people's culture and identity, and was confiscated in 1916 by the french colonial administration. it has suffered some damage, after it was kept in the governor's garden. 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 in just 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. this is new zealand's national stadium, 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 challenge ahead of them. there's the big clean—up to go, and we know through forecasts that there is more bad weather ahead.

climate change is causing episodes of heavy rainfall to 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. 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. 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. in an interview with tvnz, he said he hoped coming out would take away the pressure and stigma surrounding the issue. 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 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 ground—breaking, because, despite what our community has endured, we are here. for those watching around the world, talk to us about the rugby culture in new zealand. how much does it

permeate society? how much of a big 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 man. 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 that they do care. every time an all black gets married they are pictured on the cover of a magazine with their wife. we are constantly reminded of the et normative family unit that we have to live up to. well, —— heteronormativity. and i think living up to this factor has been very debilitating for many people. before we go, there are tributes to barrett strong,

who's died at the age of 81. he was the name behind some of the greatest songs released by the motown record label. huw edwards looks back on his life. # your love give me such a thrill # but your love don't pay my bills # i need money # that's what i want...# he wrote and sang on the label's first major hit, money, in 1960. # you should have told me yourself # that you loved someone else # instead, i heard it through the grapevine...# along with long—time collaborator norman whitfield, he wrote this classic for marvin gaye. # heard it through the grapevine...# and this one for the temptations. # papa was a rollin�* stone # wherever he laid his hat was his home...# the motown founder, berry gordy, said that barrett strong's songs were revolutionary and captured the spirit of the times. the motown songwriter barrett strong, who's died, aged

81. 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 was 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 cloud is all associated with an area of low pressure that's 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 into 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.

to be true...?

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 83 people, many of them policemen,