welcome to bbc news. i'm lisa—marie misztak. our top stories: was it a lab leak after all? the fbi says it's most likely covid originated in this facility in china. more than a0 dead after two trains collide in greece. it's been described as the worst rail disaster the country's ever seen. there's grief and anger — protests take place over a rail network demonstrators say has been neglected for years. we could be on the verge of a water crisis — the french government's warning as europe's winter drought goes on. and canadian popstar justin bieber cancels the remaining dates of his world tour due to health issues.

fbi director christopher wray says it's most likely that covid—19 emerged from a chinese government—controlled laboratory in wuhan. in response, china has accused the fbi of politicising the investigation into the origins of coronavirus, and says there has been no new scientific evidence to support the theory. other us agencies believe the virus developed naturally. our north america correspondent john sudworth reports. suspicions have long swirled around wuhan�*s laboratories. now three years after the start of the pandemic, they have burst out into the open once again. the fbi has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in wuhan. here, you are talking about a potential leak from a chinese government—controlled lab that killed millions of americans.

from the start, many scientists believed that covid had passed naturally from animals to humans. some of the first cases were centred around this wuhan�*s market known to sell wildlife. but with wuhan�*s laboratories known to have been collecting samples from bats and experimenting on coronaviruses, there is an alternative possibility, that a researcher became accidentally infected with the virus they were working on. it comes from china, that's why. it comes from china. i want to be accurate. but the theory�*s close association with donald trump made it for many one more piece of disinformation and it was widely dismissed. for the past three years in china, in europe and now in america, i have been investigating the question of covid's origin. some scientists claim the lab leak theory has been convincingly debunked but others say that in the absence of better evidence to rule it out,

they want the possibility to remain firmly on the table. the world health organization team that travelled to wuhan in 2021 concluded that it was extremely unlikely that the virus leaked from a lab, but there were concerns about china's political management of the enquiry. something one member of that team acknowledged in an interview for our upcoming podcast series. it is difficult to know where the science ends and where the politics starts. so you can have a heated debate about a lot of different details and you do not know if there is political influence. while the lab leak theory... china, it is clear, never wanted journalists asking questions about the origins of covid and there appears to be very little hope of further co—operation with international efforts to look for answers but in america there is renewed interest.

the biden administration has given the lab leak theory fresh impetus and a new republican—controlled congress has willingly picked up the batten. the select committee will come to order. this is an existential struggle over what life will look like in the 215t century. despite the fbi's public comments, the us intelligence agencies remain divided. with little hard evidence, many fear one of the biggest questions of our time — where did covid come from? — may never be convincingly answered. john sudworth, bbc news, new york. greece's prime minister has blamed tragic human error for the country's worst ever rail disaster. it's now reported to have killed at least 43 people. the passenger service heading to thessaloniki with 350 people on board collided with a freight train in the town of tempi, near the central city of larissa, causing carriages

to fly off the tracks and catch fire. police have charged a local stationmaster with manslaughter by negligence. our europe correspondent nick beake is at the scene, and sent this report. the mangled remnants of a train bringing hundreds of students back from their holidays. down the track, their now grieving families who had waived them off. greece's worst railway crash. —— waved. it should never have happened. earlier, they worked through the night, recovering dozens of victims. identification has been hard. the fire that broke out was intense. survivors describe the moments just before midnight their intercity service hit the freight train head—on. translation: we heard the big bang, then it was ten nightmarish seconds. we were turning over in the carriage.

we fell on our side, and then it stopped, and then it was panic. cables everywhere, and fire — the fire was immediate. as it quickly clear, no—one else would be found alive, news arrived that a signal master at the nearest city has been charged with manslaughter by negligence. he has blamed a possible technicalfailure. greece's prime minister, visiting this carnage, vowed to find out what had gone so catastrophically wrong. translation: our thoughts are with the victims's relatives. - our duty is to treat the injured and then to identify the bodies. i can guarantee only one thing — we will find out what caused this tragedy, and we will do whatever we can to avoid anything similar the future. this evening, greece's transport minister resigned, saying his efforts to improve the railway had not been enough to prevent such an accident. but who is to blame is not a straightforward question. many feel, though, this was a disaster waiting to happen.

the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has accused anti—government protesters unhappy at his judicial reforms of crossing a red line. he said anarchy could not be tolerated. mr netanyahu spoke after people again took to the streets in tel aviv, where 14 people were injured. the protesters believe the sweeping changes being pushed through parliament will undermine judicial independence and threaten democracy. our middle east correspondent yolande knell is injerusalem. with stun grenades and horses, israeli police try to drive protesters back. but here they break through the barricades. on the country's busiest motorway between tel aviv and jerusalem, traffic came grinding to a halt. demonstrators believe sweeping judicial changes will undermine the independence of the courts and threaten democracy. they will allow the government to overturn supreme court

rulings. but the prime minister and his new hardline government call the protesters anarchists. translation: the freedom of protest is not a license i to reduce the country to anarchy, to chaos. a sovereign state cannot tolerate anarchy. today, amid rowdy scenes, a parliamentary committee pushed new legislation through an initial vote. supporters argue their plans restore balance between the branches of government. outside, another crowd began to gather. after weeks of protest, you get a real sense of frustration from people here that their voices aren't being heard and they feel there's so much at stake. this issue is really exposing the deep divisions in the country — competing visions for israel. and some unexpected voices are speaking out. veterans of an elite military intelligence unit are among those now threatening to refuse to perform their army reserve

service in protest. it's completely unusual. we don't tend to use our position in the military background in order to gain an influence. we tend to remain impartial in those matters. but it's not a routine political debate. it's a dramatic change. polls suggest most israelis seek a compromise on judicial changes, and the president's calling for political dialogue. but the size of the latest protests and the authority's tough response showjust how split israel has become. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. the united states has denounced comments by israel's far—right finance minister bezalel smotrich, who has called for the palestinian village of hawara, to be wiped out by the state of israel. here is us state department spokesman, ned price. these comments were

irresponsible. they were repugnant. they were disgusting. and just as we condemn palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence. we call on prime minister netanyahu and other israeli officials to publicly and clearly reject and these comments. —— and disavow these comments. well, let's get the latest on this from our north america correspondent whojoins me now from los angeles. david covers strong language from nick price? the david covers strong language from nick price?— from nick price? the biden administration _ from nick price? the biden administration has - from nick price? the biden administration has become j administration has become strongly critical of the words of the right—wing government of benjamin netanyahu. —— ned price. the administration condemned the rampage by israeli settlers through the

palestinian village on sunday and it called for those who were responsible to be brought to book. now, the administration has accused a senior member of the netanyahu administration of incitement to violence for calling for that palestinian town to be". it is also called on benjamin netanyahu and senior members of his parliament to disavow the sentiments expressed by bezalel smotrich. so far there is no indication that any senior member of the israeli government has disavowed those comments. but this comes less than two weeks before bezalel smotrich himself is due to visit the united states for a speaking engagement in washington, dc, and there have been calls from groups such as an arab advocacy group, the

democracy for the arab world now group, to ask for him to have his entry denied. this isn't the — have his entry denied. this isn't the first _ have his entry denied. this isn't the first time - have his entry denied. this isn't the first time that - have his entry denied. this isn't the first time that the washington has given the responses. last week president biden urged consensus building on thejudicial plans? biden urged consensus building on the judicial plans?— on the 'udicial plans? that's ri . ht, on the judicial plans? that's right. and — on the judicial plans? that's right, and criticism - on the judicial plans? that's right, and criticism about i right, and criticism about thosejudicial right, and criticism about those judicial reforms, the speed at which the netanyahu administration is going about implementing them effectively lead to one member of the israeli government telling the united states to mind its own business. but this is the most right—wing government in israel's history, and there are those like bezalel smotrich, who make no secret of the fact that they want to see tougher action taken against palestinians in the west bank. the biden administration fears a further increase in violence in the run—up to ramadan at the end of this month. it is worth

pointing out or reminding viewers that the united states applies about $4 billion in aid every year to israel and there have been calls, increasing calls, for conditions to be attached to that aid. ajewish american group, calledj american group, called j street, american group, calledj street, describing herself as pro— israel, called on the biden administration to set clear redlines and consequences for certain israeli government policies. for certain israeli government olicies. ,., for certain israeli government olicies. ., , ., ~ policies. david worse, thank ou for policies. david worse, thank you for the _ policies. david worse, thank you for the update. -- - policies. david worse, thankl you for the update. -- willis. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: bad news for the beliebers — the canadian popstar cuts short his latest world tour. first, the plates slid gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly, the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards. it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched

onto her side. the hydrogen bomb. on a remote pacific atoll, the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier, and so my heart went bang, bang, bang! the constitutional rights of these marches - are their rights as citizens of the united states, - and they should be protected, even in the right to test them out so that they don't get their heads broken. and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy — i know you don't want to say too much about it — but does it worry you that it's going to boil up? oh, it worries me, yes, but i hope everything'll be all right at the end of the day. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: america's federal bureau

of investigation says the mostly likely cause of the covid pandemic was that it began in a chinese laboratory. more than 40 dead after two trains collide in greece. it's been described as the worst rail disaster the country's ever seen. a new report by the international energy agency has found that the amount of carbon pollution produced by sport utility vehicles or suvs rose to around one billion tonnes last year. that means that if suvs were a country, they would easily be in the top 10 highest carbon—polluters in the world, along with china the usa and india. let's speak now to brent toderian. he's a city planner and the former chief planner for vancouver, which is where he'sjoins me from. thank you so much forjoining us. what do you make of these recent findings? it us. what do you make of these recent findings?— recent findings? it is not new news.

recent findings? it is not new news- we _ recent findings? it is not new news. we know _ recent findings? it is not new news. we know from - recent findings? it is not new news. we know from many . recent findings? it is not new - news. we know from many studies done that the incredible growth of suvs and pickup trucks and passenger vans, all those larger vehicles, are having significant consequences to the success of our centres. whether it is the ability to address climate crisis, quality of life in terms of air pollution and other elements of omissions from cars or the amount of people dying or being injured from collisions which are way up from collisions which are way up because of vehicles such as suvs and pickup trucks there are consequences particularly to our cities, their health, with this explosion of purchasing of larger vehicles and how much bigger and bigger our vehicles in the cities have become. ~ ., ., i. our vehicles in the cities have become. ~ ., ., , ., ~ our vehicles in the cities have become. ~ ., ., ~ become. what do you think can become. what do you think can be done to _ become. what do you think can be done to control _ become. what do you think can be done to control the - become. what do you think can be done to control the price - become. what do you think can be done to control the price ofl be done to control the price of suvs ownership and charge them accordingly? i suvs ownership and charge them accordingly?—

accordingly? i am a city planner _ accordingly? i am a city planner so _ accordingly? i am a city planner so i _ accordingly? i am a city planner so i usually - accordingly? i am a city i planner so i usually avoid accordingly? i am a city - planner so i usually avoid the debates about what kind of vehicles are better or worse but it is a simple fact that when you're trying to plan the success of cities where space is a finite thing, the fact vehicles have gotten bigger and bigger, means we have to manage that and the extreme conversation about managing and it is whether we should ban the largest vehicles, the obnoxious fleet larger vehicles, but what more jurisdictions and cities are doing is pricing them accordingly, whether it is vehicle administration fees, taxes or congestion charges, you can price smaller and lighter vehicles less and heavier and larger vehicles more. you're not going to accommodate this explosive size increased by having bigger and wider roads and bigger parking spaces and people are going to face the consequences of having a large vehicle if that is the choice that they make. the

conversation is i was about what about the people who needed for theirjobs or size of family and that is not what we're talking about here. most jurisdictions are addressing theissue jurisdictions are addressing the issue of fairness but the explosion of the purchasing of these kind of vehicles is not driven by your profession or size of yourfamily, driven by your profession or size of your family, it is driven by marketing, very successful marketing from the manufacturing companies to make the big vehicles the new normal and that is artificial in the context of what people need for their work or family life so it is that kind of explosion of sales and the consequences deceit is we are talking about. thank you very much for your insights. thank you very much for your insiuhts. ~ , thank you very much for your insiuhts. g , .,, a french government minister is warning the country could be on the verge of a water crisis, as a result of an ongoing winter drought. parts of france has had little or no rain in the last few weeks and water levels have dropped alarmingly.

spain has also suffered from the drought, as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. this is, or perhaps was, the river loire. france's longest river, which seems to be disappearing before our eyes. for week after week no rain has come. the driest period since records began more than 60 years ago and for the people who live here, these are worrying times. translation: i am scared, i feel like we'll lack water. l i have never seen this. often at this time of the year, as the snow melts, there is a lot of water but right now it is shocking to see the water so low. translation: there is no fishing left. - back in the day, the water levels were high and we caught fish. right now it is no good. we can't fish anymore, at least for now. winter is normally a crucial period in restoring water levels but not this year, and 2022 was the second—hottest year

europe has ever experienced. lack of rain can have a knock—on effect — reduced crops, greater risk of wildfire and potentially rationing. translation: we are in a particular situation - because we are on the verge of a water crisis in our country for the next summer so we are in the process of acting upon it. it is notjust france that's suffering. this is the catalonian region of spain — this is the catalonia region of spain — more dry river beds, more concerns about the future and the problems climate change can cause. restrictions have already been imposed. people will not be able to wash their cars orfill their swimming pool. orfill their swimming pools. rain is forecast for the coming days but long—term, water or a lack of it is still a major concern. tim allman, bbc news. a panel of us lawmakers has

voted to advance a bill to ban tiktok. the chinese owned social media act is used by more than 100 million americans. earlierthis more than 100 million americans. earlier this week government agencies were ordered to wipe tiktok off federal devices in the us. this is after canada and other countries did the same. the canadian grammy winnining performer, justin bieber has announced that he is cancelling his world tour. the singer suffers from a rare condition called ramsay hunt syndrome, which has left his face partially paralysed. according to the tour�*s official twitter page, ticket holders will automatically receive a refund. eric alper is a canadian music publicist, correspondent, blogger and radio host and hejoins me live from toronto. thank you forjoining us. no reason has been given yet exactly why the tour has been cancelled?—

exactly why the tour has been cancelled? not yet and it is an awful way _ cancelled? not yet and it is an awful way for— cancelled? not yet and it is an awful way for him _ cancelled? not yet and it is an awful way for him to _ cancelled? not yet and it is an awful way for him to expand . cancelled? not yet and it is an l awful way for him to expand his 29th birthday which just happens to be today. he has not really gone online and explained what he is going through at this moment. he has posted a couple of things on his massive instagram, about 280 million fans. but some symptoms of ramsay hunt syndrome include ear pain, yellows, the closing of one eye and a so it makes it awfully tough to do a show when you are standing in front of people singing and dancing but it is also hard to plan a week or two weeks down the road because you simply do not know how long it will last and on the business side of things, it causes the insurance companies that ensure these types of shows, a real morrison on whether they will have to start to do refunds or having to charge back a lot of

upfront expenses. you mentioned the business _ upfront expenses. you mentioned the business side, _ upfront expenses. you mentioned the business side, this _ upfront expenses. you mentioned the business side, this tour - the business side, this tour has been postponed beforejune two justin has been postponed beforejune twojustin bieber�*s house. there were some issues about people not getting their money back? 50 people not getting their money back? ., . ., people not getting their money back? ., ., back? so far the official rate is everybody _ back? so far the official rate is everybody who _ back? so far the official rate is everybody who bought - back? so far the official rate - is everybody who bought tickets from the official retailer, like a ticketmaster, from the first source, they will get their money back. if you happen to go on a secondary website or bold tickets from a scalpel, it is up to you to get the money back yourself but all the refunds are being done now that it is officially cancelled, rather than postponed. if it is postponed, they can still hang onto your money but because of the dates in the us, europe, australia and parts of asia have now been officially cancelled, refunds will be

imminent. aha, cancelled, refunds will be imminent.— cancelled, refunds will be imminent. a world to offer an one imminent. a world to offer anyone would _ imminent. a world to offer anyone would take - imminent. a world to offer anyone would take its - imminent. a world to offer anyone would take its toll| imminent. a world to offer. anyone would take its toll on imminent. a world to offer- anyone would take its toll on a body. how strenuous is it touring and doing a global tour? ~ . , touring and doing a global tour? . . , ., , tour? we have seen in the last five - six _ tour? we have seen in the last five - six years _ tour? we have seen in the last five - six years a _ tour? we have seen in the last five - six years a lot _ tour? we have seen in the last five - six years a lot of- five — six years a lot of artists who grew up in the spotlight on social media having problems with not only their physical health but mental health as well. these are just who in the 1970s, a lot of artist went through the things that we kind of celebrated like the drug problem, the alcohol problem, because there was no way for these people to go for help. now mental health is talked about, it is mentioned, discussed on social media for a lot of new artists. they feel they do not have to be embarrassed to talk about what they are going through and therefore they are making it a little bit of a priority, a lot more than the others that came along into the 70s and 80s, to start cancelling shows if they are simply not mentally up for it and that is a really great

thing to have. i know the fans are going to be disappointed but the physical aspect of touring is a grilling and the have to start taking steps to help their mental health and i applaud artist because we are making it our priority. it is no wonder so many artists are struggling coming out of a three—year covid lockdown. thank you for your time. thank you for having me, we will talk soon. the royal television society journalism awards have taken place in central london this evening. the awards celebrate creativity and excellence in journalism, and the bbc won prizes in several categories. the news coverage international prize was awarded for the bbc�*s coverage of the war in ukraine, which judges described as brave frontline reporting and insightful coverage of the refugee problem. the network presenter of the year is... clive myrie! cheering and applause. and clive myrie was named network presenter of the year. he too was recognised for his work in ukraine and his ability to bring

empathy as well as authority to his broadcasting while under the most intense pressure. that is all for now, thank you for watching. hello there. we're starting off with the weather news that february was a very dry month across the whole of the uk, but particularly so in england. the driest in england for 30 years, and parts of essex only had 3.5 millimetres of rain for the whole month. now, this is the satellite picture from wednesday. you can see the extent of the cloud across the uk, but look closely, we've got some clearer skies set to head into northwest scotland and some clearer skies over the continent that are set to break the cloud across east anglia, the south midlands and southern counties of england as well. whereas this thick cloud out in the north sea, that's going to continue to bring outbreaks of rain over the next few hours. light and patchy stuff across the south and east of scotland and northern england. so, certainly some pretty damp weather here, albeit the rain not particularly heavy. now where the skies do clear,

we're looking at a widespread frost towards the southeast east. lowest temperatures about —2 and down to about —4 in the highlands of scotland in the coldest spots. now, we'll take a look at the charts then for thursday. remember, we've got that much thicker cloud across northern england, southern eastern scotland. still some patches of light rain to come through the morning, so quite a damp start to the day. best of the sunshine across southern england, the south midlands, southern wales and also north west scotland, and maybe some breaks in the cloud getting into northern ireland at times. temperatures not really changing much, in what we've seen over recent days, 8 to 10 degrees, but feeling cooler than that in the chilly northeasterly wind that we've still got. i think on friday, by and large, it should be a dry and bright day for most of us, with some sunny spells breaking through at times. temperatures not really changing a great deal, we're looking at highs again around 8 or 9 degrees celsius or so. now, there will be some changes in the weather pattern as we head into this weekend. what we're looking at on saturday is probably a bit more cloud coming back in from the north sea and sunday, the cloud thickens further to bring us some patchy outbreaks of light rain. and, so, probably a dry day on saturday, bright conditions sunday, the chance of a few patches of rain from time

to time, but nothing particularly heavy. beyond that, the weather gets a bit more interesting into next week. what happens is we get northerly winds bringing polar air southwards across the uk, and with that there'll be a significant drop in temperatures, we'll see a return of widespread night—time frost. will be a bit of sunshine around, but, also, for some of us, we're looking at a return of wintry weather with snow in the forecast for some of you. that's the latest.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the director of he fbi says it's most likely that covid—19 emerged from a chinese government—controlled laboratory in wuhan. in response, china's accused the fbi of politicising the investigation into the origins of coronavirus, and says there's been no new scientific evidence to support the theory. greece's prime minister has blamed tragic human error for the country's worst ever rail disaster. it's now reported to have killed at least 43 people. the passenger service, heading to thessaloniki, collided with a freight train in the town of tempi near the central city of larissa. a french government minister's

warning the country could be on the verge of a water crisis, as a result of an ongoing winter drought. france has had little rain in the last few weeks,