tv BBC News BBC News June 1, 2020 11:00pm-11:31pm BST
11:00 pm
this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. it's now a week since the killing of george floyd, an african—american who died being detained by police in minneapolis. in dozens of american cities, there have been more protests and violence, but the president ignored calls for a unifying message. you have to dominate. if you don't dominate, you're wasting your time. they're going to run over you. you're going to look like a bunch ofjerks. you have to dominate. england sees its lockdown relaxed further, with up to six people now allowed to meet outdoors. but there's criticism from some scientists. and singapore, the city state with the highest number of
11:01 pm
covid cases in south east asia, takes gradual steps to reopen its economy. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. we start in the us one week after the killing of george floyd in minneapolis. there have been more protests and violence in cities across the country. president trump has been criticised for telling state governors to take a much tougher line with the protesters. a postmortem commissioned by the family of george floyd has found he died of asphyxiation because of pressure on his back and neck. barbara plett—usher reports from minneapolis.
11:02 pm
seven days after the death of george floyd, his brother returned to the place where he drew his last desperate breaths. what's his name? george floyd! this was more than a stop on a private journey of grief, it was an appeal to end the violence that exploded in protests over the brutality of his killing. let's stop thinking that our voice don't matter... that's right. ..and vote. let's switch it up. yes! amen! do this peacefully. please. nojustice! no peace! protests the day before were largely peaceful, but as night fell, demonstrators defied orders to go home and promised to keep coming back. even if it thins out today, there's tomorrow. understand that. you can't kill all 400,000 of us or a million of us. you can't do it in one walk. do you think these protests are different than others that have happened? yeah, cos we tired. we tired. the curfew has just ended and police are dispersing the protesters. they seem to have gained
11:03 pm
the upper hand now and they want to consolidate that control. it's been a week since george floyd died, but it's going to take more than curfews and physical force to deal with the damage that was done. security forces have come down like a hammer here to restore order, but the case of george floyd has refocused attention on the long—standing problem of police violence because of this graphic video — which showed mr floyd expire in real time as he begs to be able to breathe. the officer pinned him to the ground with a knee to his neck for nearly nine minutes. derek chauvin was charged with murder and manslaughter, but he already had a bad record — at least 17 misconduct complaints. an official autopsy said that this wasn't the direct cause of mr floyd's death, although mr chauvin was charged with third—degree murder. an independent autopsy released today says otherwise. the evidence is consistent with mechanical asphyxia
11:04 pm
as the cause of death and homicide as the manner of death. the public fury has been punctuated by a rare show of solidarity from individual members of the security forces. here, the national guard, but police officers across the country have made similar gestures. no sign of reconciliation from the president, though. the president spoke after a weekend of chaos across the country. he's literally under siege, with protesters chanting at the doorstep of the white house and setting fires in the capital. in san diego, more than 100 were arrested as police moved in with tear gas. and in new york, a curfew has been imposed tonight after police fought running battles with protesters. today was a moment of reflection in minneapolis, where it all started. people feel like they've been
11:05 pm
here many times before — outrage over a brutal death that didn't lead to change. but they're wondering whether just maybe, this time, it might. that's barbara plett usher reporting there. there's broad agreement that america has not witnessed racial unrest on this scale since the late 1960s, following the assassination of martin luther king. the circumstances in which george floyd died, and the highly charged response, have shown once again the deep mistrust and hostility felt by millions of african—americans towards the police. 0ur correspondent nick bryant puts the events of the past week into a wider historical context. the words "state of emergency" seem inadequate to describe what's happening in america right now. and not since the assassination of martin luther king in 1968 have we witnessed such widespread racial turbulence. chanting: black lives matter, black lives matter! if we rendered these pictures in black—and—white, they'd
11:06 pm
look like they came from the 605. # we are not afraid... # that was the decade when the struggle for black equality achieved such landmark success. the civil rights movement pushing for legislation that ended segregation across the american south and guaranteeing voting rights for black americans. but there was unfinished business. police brutality has always been hard to legislate against. african—americans have never achieved equality in pay — a form of income segregation that persists today. racism is a sore that has been festering over and over and over again. it's like when the sore is about to heal, the wound is reopened again by incidents like this and you have to start all over again. the question is — how much can people take? cheering many hoped the election of america's first black president would repair, even heal, america's racial breach, but barack 0bama never wanted his time in office to be defined by the colour of his skin.
11:07 pm
in terms of racial progress, his presidency was less historic than the fact that he became president. this american carnage stops right here and stops right now. he was followed into office by donald trump, whose political rise started when he disputed whether ba rack 0bama was born in america — a groundless accusation. many reasons explain his victory in 2016, but mr trump certainly benefited from a backlash against a black president among some white voters. america is being hit right now by three simultaneous convulsions. a pandemic that's disproportionately affecting people of colour, an economic shock that's disproportionately affecting people of colour and civil unrest caused by police brutality that disproportionately affects people of colour.
11:08 pm
racial division is america's default setting. so what we're seeing here is not some aberration... ..but rather the continuation of an unbroken historical thread. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. let's get some of the day's other news. authorities in hong kong have banned an annual vigil marking the tiananmen square crackdown. police cited public health concerns due to the coronavirus. it's the first time in 30 years that officials have tried to stop the protest. and it comes as china pushes a new law which makes undermining beijing's authority a crime in the territory. spain has reported zero deaths from coronavirus in the past 2a hours. the country's health ministry said the number of infections has gone up by 71, to 239,638. lockdown easing is continuing, with 70% of the country now in phase two, where cafes and bars can open with social distancing measures. and in south africa, long queues have formed outside the country's liquor stores as restrictions on the sale
11:09 pm
of alcohol are lifted. authorities say the ban — in place for two months — was intended to help police and hospitals focus on tackling the coronavirus. england has seen the biggest relaxation of the lockdown since it was imposed ten weeks ago. there has been criticism from some scientists that this is too much too soon. a key part of easing the lockdown is the government's ability to identify and tackle outbreaks of coronavirus through a new system of contact tracing. with the latest on the easing of the lockdown, here's our health editor hugh pym. enjoying new freedom in england today to meet outdoors in larger groups with social distancing. the rules in wales changed today as well. scotland and northern ireland have already loosened guidelines on meeting outdoors. so as the restrictions are eased, how will the authorities monitor the spread of the virus
11:10 pm
and try to keep it in check? a full testing and contact tracing system is seen as essential. as well as testing people, ministers say tracking down recent contacts of those who test positive will be vital to stopping the spread of the virus. contact tracers have been appointed and the system launched, but already there are concerns. 0ne contact tracer who wanted to be anonymous told us he had been given very little work since the launch last thursday. we've heard reports from some contact tracers that, since they started work in england last thursday, they've had very little, if anything, to do. what do you think is actually
11:11 pm
happening with the system? we've hired, as you all know, 25,000 people to work as contact tracers. and the level of incidence of disease has come down. so actually, we have more capacity than we need to conduct. this is a good thing. they were pressed for the numbers of people so far contacted and said those figures would be available soon. then there's the r — that's the virus reproduction number. this shows how fast the virus is spreading. anything above one is when an individual is infecting more than one other person. the aim is to keep it below that, which means the virus is receding. the latest official estimate is a range between 0.7 and 0.9, which doesn't leave much headroom. data on infections and deaths will be closely scrutinised. the daily number of new cases has been falling. the line shows the rolling average — that's the trend — though that does not include people who have not
11:12 pm
been tested. that's thousands more. the figure for reported deaths has also been coming down steadily, but the rolling average has stalled in the last few days. in the last week or two, we have seen a relatively persistent steadying of the death numbers and a very long tail of this epidemic curve, if you like. we'll be watching closely to see if that is maintained and persistent or if even that increases in coming weeks. an extra a45 deaths have been added to the total because of delayed reporting in previous weeks. 0ne health leader has said this is a dangerous moment — and easing of lockdown measures should be painstakingly slow, as scientists watch developments. hugh pym, bbc news. some children in england have gone back to school. some nurseries have opened too. schools have kept their doors open during the lockdown, for vulnerable children and those of key workers. bra nwen jeffreys has been to a primary school in tamworth in staffordshire, in the north of england. morning, alicia. at this school, a welcome organised to run like clockwork. first to arrive, year 6.
11:13 pm
for riley and his mum louise, relief that he's back for his last term. like, even though he's going to be back for six, seven weeks tops, and then have another six weeks off, it's still nice for him to go and get a little bit of learning, because we couldn't get a lot done at home! i think i'm going to actually like being with my friends as much as i used to be. all right, then, off we go. but this is the poignant reality of riley's new class — no hugs, no quietjokes with friends, instead the loneliness of social distancing. into a classroom, each to a single desk. no books or pens shared. riley, you're here, sweetie. from lockdown to the new rules of school. good morning, everybody! hi! even assembly is now online. from the head teacher's office to the classrooms.
11:14 pm
the firstjob — to reassure the children. it is so lovely to have you all back in school. what have you been up to? most year 6 pupils were here today, but some parents of reception or year1 children kept them home. they know that school doesn't look normal. i think there's still fear, in terms of the pandemic that we're going through. i'm hoping the more that we can show that school is successfully open at the moment, and it is safe, then more parents will send their children back. through the day, washing their hands. even break time in the same small group. so, they're back with some of their friends, but having to keep their distance. and they can't mix with any other children in the school. so, although this is a day that many of them will have been looking forward to, it's not back to school as normal. it's a bit strange. we're more spaced out, whereas we're usually quite close together. it makes me, like, happier
11:15 pm
because i know i get to see the people i've been with, my whole entire life. in wales, there is no date for schools to open. scotland and northern ireland start their return in august. under the trees, lessons outdoors will be more common, one of the many precautions of this school. but still, warnings england has taken this step too soon. but we're following the scientists, who tell us that it's too soon, that contact tracing isn't working and who say that in a fortnight‘s time, contact tracing could be working and the level of infection could be half what it is now. for riley, the end of a tiring but rewarding day. still absorbing how different school looks now. branwen jeffreys, bbc news, staffordshire. do stay with us here on bbc news.
11:17 pm
this is bbc news. the latest headlines: there's been protests in dozens of american cities over the killing of an unarmed african—american, george floyd. and england sees its lockdown relaxed further, with up to six people now allowed to meet outdoors. as we've heard, a number of countries around the world are entering what could be a pivotal period this week as restrictions start easing after lockdown and students, businesses, consumers and travellers start venturing further. singapore had won worldwide praise for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. that was before the numbers of imported infections surged
11:18 pm
and hundreds of migrant workers caught the virus. today, it too starts a cautious reopening — planned over three phases. let's talk to professor teo yik ying, who is dean of the national university singapore saw swee hock school of public health. thanks very much forjoining us here on bbc news. many countries around the world are opening further this week. it's a really important we are entering, both in singapore but internationally as well. yes, it is. today, singapore, we are ending our circuit breaker. talk me through exactly how singapore has fared through this whole lockdown, because there was a period where it was being prays for how he was dealing with coronavirus, but then because it's a small city state, it relies on globalisation, a lot of cases
11:19 pm
we re on globalisation, a lot of cases were imported and that had an impact as well. yes, it did, because any first wave in january, as well. yes, it did, because any first wave injanuary, it as well. yes, it did, because any first wave in january, it was coming... the second wave came from singaporeans. a fraction brought the disease back to singapore and that started the second wave, which is what accounted for a large rise in the number of cases that we have in singapore. in terms of migrant workers, obviously singapore depends very much upon its good workers. what is the situation with those people now? will those people be going back to work in a more phased approach? for the migrant workers, we we re approach? for the migrant workers, we were fortunate we were able to stabilise the situation. but we did was increase the distancing, the safe social distancing measures that we put in place and we did this by moving a group of them out of the
11:20 pm
dormitories into alternative accommodations. and then we have seen actually how that has brought down the number of infections circulating within the migrant worker community. so in terms of schools, i know schools are going back, are today, in singapore? as a public health expert, are you convinced schools in singapore, in england, anywhere in the world, and go back safely given it is difficult to maintain social distancing with younger children? the reality is children are going back to schools, but they have put in, the schools have put in place very good measures right now. public health measures we know work. and that is around facemask wearing, around very good hygiene standards and even for some of the schools, they are not allowed in all the students to return in one go but to do this in a phased approach as well. her example, my children, for ten years old and 12, today, they are going back to school
11:21 pm
but only half the school be returning. and this gives the school and opportunity to manage the progress and make sure it helps and keeps students apart as necessary, particular during times like recess. but how sustainable is that? eventually, we want all peoples to go back, so in terms of sustaining that level of social distancing, that's michael to be possible in the short to medium—term. that's michael to be possible in the short to medium-term. this is where the calibrated phased approach becomes important —— that's not going to be possible. it can be the school system, the workplaces, public transportation. you need to find out what works well, and to find out what works well, and to find out what works well, and to find out whether if you have this phased return approach, do the systems hold up with very little researching refection? phase two,
11:22 pm
four to six weeks later, that is when all these children would return to school. 0k, professor teo yik ying, it's been very good for your company. cultural and tourist sites across europe and around the world are opening back up after months of lockdown, with delighted locals returning to the continent's attractions. but it's not all business as usual, as reged ahmad reports. bathed in green, white and red — the night before rome's ancient colosseum is finally due to reopen after months of lockdown in italy. and in the morning, people line up to see inside the famous tourist attraction. but things have changed. masks are mandatory and temperatures are checked. local visitors, though, are thrilled to be back. translation: yes, it's emotional, because it's a rebirth after a very difficult time for italy and all the world.
11:23 pm
famous tourist sites across europe are opening up, keen to be back in business after the coronavirus lockdown — such as this iconic tourist attraction in france's loire valley, where social distancing rules are also in place. book—lovers got a taste of freedom too, with finland's vast and iconic helsinki central library allowing people back into peruse the shelves. istanbul's grand bazaar in turkey, with its nearly 600—year history, was closed for months. it opened back up with fanfare — the shopkeepers and spice traders to sell their wares again. but they also need the international tourist dollar to come back. translation: we have completed necessary preparations and we are waiting for customers from abroad. our business is dependent on tourism. and as museums and cultural sites open their doors in the northern hemisphere, in the southern hemisphere, some return to normality too —
11:24 pm
as australia's taronga zoo in sydney welcomes back visitors and the state's main art gallery allows people to once again walk among its prized acquisitions. there is relief as economy started to whir back to life, but there will be concerns too about safety and the threat of a second wave of infections. for now, though, these moments are a welcomed respite. reged ahmad, bbc news. bursts of light that filled the night skies ofjapan. dozens of fireworks displays erupted simultaneously across japan on monday to cheer up the public, as the country comes out of coronavirus restrictions. more than 160 manufacturers launched their displays at 8pm in the evening at sites across the country in a five—minute display. the postponement of the tokyo 2020 olympics was a major blow for the fireworks industry, leaving craftsmen unable to sell fireworks they had
11:25 pm
spent months making. some of the fireworks had written messages attached to them praying for the end of the pandemic. let's go live now to the white house's rose garden, where president trump is expected to address reporters shortly. of course, there has been seven days of protests in the united states after the death of george floyd and we are expecting president trump to come out and address the nation in about ten minutes' time. and just to update you, several cities in america, including minneapolis and washington, dc, where the white house is, and new york are under cu rfew house is, and new york are under curfew on monday night because of these protests around the world. president trump has also been heard telling state governors they must dominate protests and call on law
11:26 pm
enforcement to get much tougher, so interesting to hear what he has to say about the latest developments. dojoin us here for say about the latest developments. do join us here for that say about the latest developments. dojoin us here for that in say about the latest developments. do join us here for that in a few minutes' time. don't go anywhere. bye— bye. another bone dry and sunny day again today. there is some good news on the horizon for gardeners and growers, we are expecting a little bit of rainfall, not an awful lot, but it is heading our way. on top of that it's going to turn quite a bit cooler in the coming days. now, in the short—term, you can see no rain clouds across the uk, but there are changes taking place in the very far north. in fact, watch what happens over the next few days. the warm air is replaced by a cold or northerly wind, certainly by the time we get to thursday and friday,
11:27 pm
those temperatures will be a lot lot lower, we are talking around 12—17. now, how much rainfall are we going to get? the truth as it is going to be very hit and miss. initially, there will be rain across scotland, that's on tuesday. after that, it will be very hit and miss across the rest of the uk. so no widespread rainfall predicted at the stage. as i said it is quiet on the way the front at the moment. a case of clear skies by early on tuesday morning. temperatures will be in the range of 7—14. so, relatively mild. here is tuesday's weather map. high—pressure across the atlantic here, stretching into here is tuesday's weather map. high—pressure across the atlantic here, stretching into western parts of europe. sort of awkward weather front stuck on the periphery of this high—pressure. that does mean though that there will be some clouds across scotland during the course of tuesday, the possibility of rainfall, much fresher air they are getting to northern scotland. 12 degrees in stornoway, but still in the low 20s for glasgow and edinburgh. now, come the middle part
11:28 pm
of the week, we have got this middle part, sitting on top of the uk, that does mean overall it is going to be a much cloudier day. right across the board. you can see where the winds are coming from straight out of the north, so much fresher air establishing itself across the uk. the possibility of some patchy rain and some showers there across the south or southwest of the country. quite a bit cooler, only 11 degrees in aberdeen, maybe just about scraping 20 degrees in london. then on thursday, those temperatures will be lower still around 16 in london and barely making double figures across the far north of uk. as you can see, towards the end of the week, we keep those temperatures in the teens, but predominantly, we are still talking about dry weather.
11:30 pm
the headlines... it's now a week since the killing of george floyd, an african—american who died being detained by police in minneapolis. in dozens of american cities, there have been more protests and violence, but the president ignored calls for a unifying message. you have to dominate. if you don't dominate, you're wasting your time. they're gonna run over you, you're gonna look like a bunch ofjerks. you have to dominate. england sees its lockdown relaxed further with up to six people now allowed to meet outdoors. but there's criticism from some scientists. and singapore, the city state with the highest number of covid cases in south east asia, takes gradual steps to reopen its economy.
41 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC News Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on