this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. us protests spread from minneapolis to at least 30 different cities — following the death of george floyd, a black man, in police custody. president trump blames looters, and leftwing

radicals for the unrest. live in central london — hundreds of people march to demonstrate after the killing of george floyd. after 10 weeks at home, more than two million people in england and wales who've been shielding during lockdown, are told they can go outdoors. the uk government has defended its decision to ease lockdown measures in england. because we have made that progress, steadily, slowly, surely, week in, week out, we can carefully take the steps that we are taking tomorrow. religious services resume. the pope has returned to st peter's basilica to celebrate mass. as schools in england prepare to reopen to some pupils tomorrow, governors say all children shouldn't have to return before summer holidays. three, two, one, zero.

ignition. lift off of the falcon 9 and crew dragon. and coming up on the programme... a new era for space travel as the first ever comercial rocket carrying humans approaches the space station. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. we start in the united states. cities across the united states are waking to up to the aftermath of more street demonstrations and growing civil unrest. curfews have been imposed in at least 13 cities. and several states have called out the national guard.

it's in response to the death on monday of george floyd, an african american man from minneapolis, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck during an arrest. in all, over 75 cities have seen unrest. the protests started largely peacefully but violence has flared — shops looted, cars burned and buildings attacked. and a number of states have called out the national guard in attempt to quell the rising tide of anger. president trump has blamed far—left groups and anarchists for the violence. our north america correspondent, david willis, reports. this was the night america rose up in protest. angry, destructive protest, aimed at the police and their treatment of racial minorities. curfews were imposed in more than a dozen american cities, but they were ignored. and as night fell, a rising tide of anger gave way to displays of arson, looting and anarchy.

many of those protests had started peacefully. "we can't breathe", the mantra of a movement that has taken george floyd's final words and turned them into a rallying cry. i cannot breathe. mr floyd was captured on video gasping for breath and pleading for his life. the police officer seen with his knee on mr floyd's neck is now facing murder and manslaughter charges but that's done little to abate the anger, and calls are growing for the three other officers involved in his arrest to also be brought to justice. president trump said the us military was ready, willing and able to deploy if the unrest continued. as he hunkered down in the white house, protesters rallied for a second nightjust outside the gates. a potent cocktail of factors are at play here. the coronavirus pandemic has thrown a0 million americans out of work and trashed a once buoyant economy.

people have been cooped up indoors for months as a result. some knowing it may be months if not years before they get theirjobs back. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. let's go to the demonstration which has been going about half an hour in central london. we have our helicopter up and you can see several hundred, as we understand it. this is walking past the cenotaph in whitehall, past number ten. it looks as though they are heading towards vauxhall bridge. it's not clear either who has called this demonstration. because various tweets have been sent out on instagram and social media urging people to start from one o'clock local time to demonstrate against the killing of george floyd. this seems to have the branding of black

lives matter but we have been told by them, they have not organised this. these are the live pictures, it is all very peaceful at the moment, there's not much observation of social distancing, it must be said. london still really in lockdown, as far as big groups of being allowed to gather, but beautiful sunny afternoon, as we can see. but several hundred, as we understand, congregating originally in trafalgar square, now fanning out a little bit and walking down towards the thames. it's not clear quite where they are heading for, but it is worth pointing out the american embassy, the new american embassy is in nine elms. let's catch up embassy is in nine elms. let's catch up with the situation in the united states because the national guard has been called out in several cities and violence has spread right

around the country, as we saw in that report by david willis. to tell us more here's professor melina abdullah, one of the los angeles co—founders of black lives matter. thank you forjoining us. regrettably, we have seen several, numerous black deaths in police custody over the years, what is it about this particular death do you think, which has ignited so much anger? i think it is a combination of things. one, anyone who has seen the video of george floyd being murdered can see the horror of it, can understand the horror of it. this officer made the decision to steal his life over his please to god, his mother, saying he can't

breathe, sounding much like eric gardner sounded. so it is not lost on us gardner sounded. so it is not lost on us that the officer should have been conscious of. also, the officer took almost ten minutes to steal that life, so he could have made a different decision. forgive me, the images are terrible and obviously the officer, i think was on george floyd's neck for eight minutes. it is worth saying that how horrific this was, the initial autopsy report said there was no signs of strangulation or asphyxiation. so let's keep to what the facts are to what we understand them at the moment. are you saying this is more than this one thing, this is about the civil rights of blacks and how the civil rights of blacks and how the black people in america feel

victimised by the police right around the country? also as we think about facts, it is important to think about what facts being reported by people who were actually there. the people who were actually there. the people who were actually there talk about their attempts to intervene, even physically. if you watch the video for the entire duration, which was more than ten minutes, officer chauvin pulled a weapon on one of the witnesses who attempted to intervene. yes, this is about a boiling point. forgive me, the point was the autopsy showed he didn't die of strangulation or asphyxiation. that is the official autopsy that is issued by the same state that employed officer chauvin and empowers the minneapolis police department. george floyd's family is going to be doing an independent autopsy. we watched what happened,

so autopsy. we watched what happened, so it is a little bit problematic to have a state issued autopsy report, consider that fact. i do want to lift up, so we're not going to take the bait of don't believe your lying eyes, we the bait of don't believe your lying eyes , we saw the bait of don't believe your lying eyes, we saw what happened. i also wa nt to eyes, we saw what happened. i also want to lift up though, in cities like los angeles, the killing of black people is a regularity. that in the last seven years since this mare taken office, 601 people have been killed by police. many of them on video. nationally about 1100 people are killed by police in this country each year. i know that is a different number from what you experience in europe, and london in particular. but it is really important to understand that the system of policing in the united

states directly evolves abbas khan some otherfacts, in states directly evolves abbas khan some other facts, in minneapolis a black person is more likely to be arrested for a minor offence, nearly nine times more likely to be arrested than a white person. there isa arrested than a white person. there is a new police chief in minneapolis who is black. our state looking at this problem and are things improving? it doesn't really matter who the police chief is, what i am trying to point to is the injustice of the system. the system of policing, regardless of who you put in place puts targets on black people's backs and the outcomes tend to be the same, no matter who you put in place. what we are calling for is a fundamental change in the way we view public and community safety in this country and perhaps globally. maybe we don't need to be so globally. maybe we don't need to be so dependent on the police when we

know the things that actually keep communities safe are things like good jobs, things like housing, things like mental health resources, rehabilitation services. and so those are the things we are calling for, black lives matter globally, is calling for a defunding of the police and that officers who kill people be prosecuted. notjust fired, but prosecuted and that means all involved. not just fired, but prosecuted and that means all involved. notjust people like chauvin but the other three officers who stood around and enabled him to steal the life of george floyd. 0k, professor, thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. thank you. this demonstration today on the streets of london, it is thinning out a little bit and certainly there don't seem little bit and certainly there don't

seem to be as many people as they we re seem to be as many people as they were in trafalgar square about an hour or so ago. there is a little bit more social distancing here, london still under lockdown and no big demonstrations like this allowed at the moment. it seems they are walking down to vauxhall bridge and if that is the case they may be heading for the new american embassy in nine elms. but no trouble, it has been very peaceful so far, but it has moved on from trafalgar square, down whitehall and it appears to be going across vauxhall, or heading towards vauxhall bridge. let's bring you some news 110w. public health wales said a further 11 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in wales to 1,3a2. another 82 people have tested positive for covid—19, bringing the total number

of confirmed cases in the country to 13,995. that just thatjust in. the uk's foreign secretary, dominic raab, has defended the government's easing of the lockdown in england, saying that number ten had been acting "very ca refully". it comes as vulnerable people across england and wales, who had been advised to stay indoors to avoid contracting covid—19, have been told they can go outside tomorrow. jonathan blake reports. for ten weeks, lynne loomes had to stay at home. suffering from autoimmune disease she is among the most vulnerable to coronavirus. aside from family time in the garden, only an essential trip to the hospital was allowed. i sat in the car for about ten minutes trying to pull myself together to actually get out. once out and in the hospital, i have to say everybody was fantastic but it has actually got harder as some of the rules have

eased because we know it doesn't really change for us as a family. now ministers have announced the 2 million or so people who have been shielding in england will be allowed outside from tomorrow, as the lockdown is gradually lifted. the uk's covid—19 alert system suggests restrictions can be eased at level three, but it's currently at four, so is the government acting too soon? the number of new cases is down by over 800, week on week. the number of covid—19 patients in critical care is down by over 200. the number of deaths week on week from friday is down by 27. so because we have made that progress steadily, slowly, surely, week in, week out we can very gradually, very carefully take the steps we are taking tomorrow in the way i've described. the foreign secretary said this was a sensitive moment and any increase in coronavirus cases could lead to tighter measures in specific areas, which some scientists warn is likely. it may be that actually easing

lockdown is perfectly 0k in areas like london, which were hit early and hit hard, where the epidemic seems to have been virtually passed in many parts of the community, with a few exceptions. but up north, it's still a very large number of cases. testing people for coronavirus and tracing those they've had contact with will be crucial to controlling the virus as restrictions are lifted, but labour and others are concerned the systems are not fully ready. test, track and isolate is fundamental because unless that works, we won't know where the disease is, we won't able to shut it down in localised areas and we can see the reimposition of a lockdown and as you would expect, as shadow chancellor, i'm very, very concerned about what would happen to our economy if that happens, as well as the health impact. relaxing the rules is not without risk and the impact the changes will have is unclear. jonathan blake, bbc news.

just taking you back to central london. we've still got the helicopter out and looking at the demonstration walking along the south bank of the embankment now, getting quite close, i think they arejust outside the getting quite close, i think they are just outside the new american embassy. the police line is there, all very peaceful. but i am also hearing actually, there is quite a number of protesters just behind this first group. the other group are still crossing the thames and making their way to the embassy. it does appear that this is where they have intended to continue the demonstration all amassing there now, several hundred and no social distancing. london still under lockdown for events like this, but the police just keeping a line lockdown for events like this, but the policejust keeping a line in front of the embassy. this embassy,

huge embassy built on the south bank with a moat around it and one of the most high—tech security conscious embassies in the world. only opened a couple of years ago also. that is where they are heading and we will keep an eye on that, but you can see just more people coming down that nine elms, on the south bank. and here, more people coming over, i think it is lambeth bridge, just coming over the water. just by the archbishop of canterbury's official residence in london, lambeth palace, and making their way down. about half a mile walk so probably several thousand demonstrators taking part in this demonstration against the killing of george floyd. the headlines on bbc news:

us protests spread from minneapolis to at least 30 different cities — following the death of george floyd, a black man, in police custody. president trump blames looters, and leftwing radicals for the unrest. london's trafalgar square fills with hundreds of people protesting over the killing of george floyd. they of george floyd. have now made their way from there they have now made their way from there to outside the us embassy. after ten weeks at home, more than 2 million people in england and wales who've been shielding during lockdown, are told they can go outdoors. the uk government has defended its decision to ease lockdown measures in england. india has announced plans to further ease a strict national lockdown. it comes despite a record daily rise of nearly 8,000 new coronavirus cases on saturday. from the 8th ofjune, restaurants, hotels,

shopping centres and places of worship will be allowed to re—open in many areas in the first stage of a three—phase plan. divya arya, our corresondent in delhi has the details. it is a clear message to the people that this might still be called a lockdown, it is a month—long extension, but the purpose of the extension to unlock. this will strictly be enforced only in areas with a high number of coronavirus cases. other areas, most of the country, will see this phased opening. only schools and colleges are not being opened for another month. we have not heard anything about international air travel as well. other things, shops, shopping malls, even places of religious worship, are opening up. today is an update on saturday, the numbers are still the highest single day surge, 8300 today.

we have seen that for the past week. numbers are consistently rising as india started easing restrictions. over the past two weeks train travel has been allowed, so has domestic air flight. millions of people, stranded without pay in big cities, have been moved, as they wanted to go back to their hometown, they had no way to sustain themselves. the numbers are small but now as restrictions are being eased there is a possibility, and as we have seen over the last two weeks, that the numbers may search. that the numbers may surge. these are small numbers in comparison to the population but the government has also been accused of very low levels of testing. india's testing, just over 100,000 people every day, one of the lowest levels of testing, globally. thousands of children in england will return to school tomorrow for the first time since march. nurseries, pre—school and reception classes are allowed to re—sta rt as well as years one and six.

but there are fears that letting children return to class could result in a surge of new cases. the exact rules will vary, but there are examples to follow in europe. the netherlands was one of the first countries to send pupils back, and anna holligan has been to see what the impact has been at one school in north brabant — one of the country's worst hit regions. can you guess what it is yet? six months ago we had never heard of it. now six—year—olds can sketch coronavirus molecules from memory. translation: little bacteria bugs that make you sick. that's corona. translation: i know about it from the news, my girlfriends, and the teacher. for these pupil at springboard primary going back to school comes

with five new rules. only pupils and teachers are allowed inside. scrub every time you enter the building. there's one of these pumps at every entrance. use shields designed to reduce the spread of germs. year groups must attend on different days. in some schools they've split the classes to reduce the number of children in the building. older pupils from age six must stay 1.5 metres away from their teachers. these are lessons they hope will save lives. for the younger ones, practically nothing's changed. but teachers like miss daisy are working behind the scenes. i think it's very important for the children that everything is as normal as possible. we have some new things, new rules into the schools, but the most important is that they are happy and they get

comfort and they can be a child. this feels unusually relaxed, especially compared to elsewhere in europe. in belgium where the teachers are wearing visors. in denmark where the children can't hug their best friends. but here in the netherlands, they believe the benefits of giving children this freedom outweigh the risks. at least 99 dutch primary school teachers have tested positive for covid—19 so far this month. they're still monitoring the infection rates. so there's hospital admissions, there's icu admissions. the issue with these two measurements is that it's quite late in the chain of, you know, events after an infection occurs, so we'd rather look at things like the number of gp visits, the number of positive tests, because that's a little bit earlier in that same chain. but in all these different sources

we don't see an effect of the school opening. every one of these pupils told us they're happy to be back in class. something to celebrate. they're starting to find a way to live and learn through the pandemic. anna holligan, bbc news, den bosch. in a little over one hour time, the first astronauts put into orbit by a private company will dock with the international space station. elon musk‘s spacex rocket lifted off from cape canaveral in florida last night. it's carrying two us astronauts doug hurley and bob behnken — it's the first rocket to carry a crew from american soil in nearly a decade.

let's go back to the american embassy in central london, the demonstration against the killing of george floyd. you are watching bbc news. this was the demonstration and according to social media, it was ordered by black lives matter, but they are denying that as a group. probably a few thousand demonstrators gathered in trafalgar square about an hour and a half ago. they have now walked down across one of the bridges, lambeth bridge, on to the south bank. they are nowjust outside the us embassy. police have not prevented them making this march, but it is flouting social

lockdown rules at the moment. nothing like this has been seen on the streets of london for a long time. i think we havejust lost the streets of london for a long time. i think we have just lost the helicopter camera. but this was the scene at lambeth bridge. that is near lambeth palace, the official residence of the archbishop of canterbury. basically, a few stragglers walking down the south bank towards the us embassy. but all peaceful, without any incident. these pictures about half an hour or s0 these pictures about half an hour or so ago. you can these pictures about half an hour or s0 ago. you can see these pictures about half an hour or so ago. you can see quite a considerable number of demonstrators. some standing on car roofs, but no clashes with police. i think we can go back to the helicopter, but i am not sure if the pilot has gone to refuel. no, he is

back, he has just pilot has gone to refuel. no, he is back, he hasjust come round. this is the scene outside the us embassy. this embassy only been built a few yea rs this embassy only been built a few years now, huge embassy, massive, secure complex on the south bank, surrounded by a moat. all the latest technology in terms of protection for that embassy. there you see a number of people protesting about the killing of george floyd in minneapolis a few days ago now. so those demonstrations spreading from the states, where they have erupted into violent demonstrations. 18 cities have been affected, the national guard called out. but here, peaceful but over the same killing, the inequality, as many would see it, of the black population in the united states. the fact they are targeted, they say, more than white. looking at the crime figures for minneapolis. interesting to see that

black people are nearly nine times more likely to be arrested for minor crimes than white people in that particular state. the demonstration continues here in the late may sunshine by the river on the south bank. let's see if that weather is going to last. monday morning, starts dry and sunny for all of us, a bit of low cloud clearing away from coastal areas. fairweather cloud bubbling up through the day and we could see an isolated and heavy shower develop across scotland and northern ireland. eastern coastal areas are

fresher. a few changes taking place across the north of the uk on tuesday. this cold front sinks south and wants to bring outbreaks of rain to the northern half of scotland and a cool, northerly wind setting in. elsewhere, try, sunny and warm across the south. much cooler in northern scotland. hello, this is bbc news — the headlines: us protests spread from minneapolis to at least 30 different cities, following the death of george floyd, a black man, in police custody. president trump blames looters, and left—wing radicals for the unrest. live in central london — hundreds of people march to demonstrate after the killing of george floyd.

they are now outside the