this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lewis vaughan jones. remembering george floyd. the first memorial service is held for the man whose death in police custody launched a global movement. america, this is the time of dealing with accountability in the criminaljustice system. in hong kong, tens of thousands commemorate the tiananmen square crackdown, defying a ban and challenging china. libya's internationally

recognised government has driven back forces against it. a new crisis for new york — first coronavirus, now the protests. can business blossom for the city's small traders? hello and welcome to bbc news. we start in the us. the first of several memorial services have been held in minneapolis, to remember the life of george floyd, the 46—year—old black man, who's death sparked days of protests across the country, and around the world. a lawyer for mr floyd's family, said his death was the result of a "pandemic of racism and discrimination." from minneapolis, here's barbara plett usher.

this is the beginning of a period of official mourning for george floyd but not the end of his story. a pause for breath after ten traumatic days. the unrest that has shaken the country in the wake of his death seem to demand a collective display of grief, despite the risks of the coronavirus. # amazing grace. # how sweet the sound...# one by one members of mr floyd's family remembered what he meant to them in life. every day he walks outside, there would be a line of people, just like when we came in, wanted to greet him and wanted to have fun with him. he had a way with words, he could always make you ready to jump and go all the time.

everybody loved george. he was this great big giant and when he would wrap his arms around you, you would feel like you, know, you were everything, any problems you had, any concerns you had would go away. but this service was even more about what george floyd's death means to the nation, about another black man in a list of so many killed in police custody. about beginning to shape the massive movement for racialjustice it ignited. i saw somebody standing in front of a church the other day that had been boarded up as a result of violence. held the bible in his hand. i have been preaching since i was a little boy, i have never seen anyone hold a bible like that but i will leave that alone. the civil rights veteran, reverend al sharpton, delivered a attack on the president's recent controversial photo op but he was blistering

about the violence of structural racism in the country. what happened to floyd happens every day in this country in education, in health services, and in every area of american life! it's time for us to stand up and say, it's time for us to stand up in georfgia's name and say, get your knee off our necks! let us stand still. you that believe in faith bow your heads. they were silent for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the time that mr floyd spent with a knee on his neck. that number has become a symbol of police brutality for protesters. in new york another memorial. seeking to build on momentum for change. chant:

in minneapolis, streets bear the scars of the dark days that followed george floyd's death. residents hunkered down trying to protect their livelihoods as protests turned violent, laying waste to hundreds of businesses. but the community has rallied strongly, creating a safe space to support each other, uniting against the forces that would divide them, determined to lead the country in pushing for lasting change. so it can finally be the land of the free. this has been a seminal moment for america to take a look at itself and ask in which direction it is going. barbara plett usher, bbc news. our north america correspondent, david willis, says it was a very somber mood at the memorial service in minneapolis. a very moving memorial service there in minneapolis, lewis, and we heard there from the reverend al sharpton who said that it was time for black people to stand up and say get off our necks.

and he went on to say that it does not matter if you wear bluejeans or a blue uniform, you must pay for the crime that you commit. thousands of people attended a memorial service for george floyd in new york as well today. and there are more protests planned across the united states tonight but we saw 5000 people, perhaps more, at rallies both in washington, dc and here in los angeles. both of those passed off entirely peacefully. i know much is made of watershed moments in history and so on but, with these protests growing and growing more peaceful, this really is starting to seem like one. that's interesting, david, isn't it? and of course we pointed out erlier on that this memorial that we saw in barbara's report, the first memorial? that's right, yes, indeed. the first of a number over the next six days or so that will culminate in george

floyd's funeral and it seems that perhaps the momentum will grow steadily as those memorial services continue. they are being held in three separate states. but today very, very big attendance at that one in new york, and as many people as they could possibly cram in to the service in minneapolis. as i say, i think this is the start of something that the reverend al sharpton has said will continue over the summer and beyond until, as he put it, there is reform, genuine reform of the criminal justice system here in america. and on the cirminaljustice system, david, let's go back to the original incident. and an update on the other police officers that were present at the time. absolutely, three of them appeared in court today, lewis, charged with aiding and abetting the murder of george floyd. no pleas were entered.

if convicted, those three police officers face up to a0 years injail. it emerged that two of them, j alexander kueng and thomas lane had been on the minneapolis police force for less than a week and they were under the supervision of derek chauvin, the man who was captured on camera with his knee on george floyd's neck. mr chauvin is not due to appear in court until monday to face charges of second—degree murder. in hong kong, thousands of people have defied a police ban, and held a vigil marking the anniversary of the tianamen square crackdown. on this day in 1989, the chinese military opened fire on thousands of pro—democracy protesters in beijing. even before police banned the tianamen commemoration, tensions were running high over china's national security law for hong kong. danny vincent reports.

hong kong in defiance. police watch on as thousands ignore social distancing measures. this visual is usually the only mass gathering allowed on chinese soil, to remember the victims of the tiananmen square massacre but this year they tried to turn it because of the coronavirus but it did not work. this is illegal assembly. thousands breaking the law to remember lives lost three decades ago, when hundreds, possibly thousands were killed when the army crackdown on student led pro—democracy movement. today, hong kong is facing political turmoil. the only way out is independence, they say. events held here in hong kong to commemorate the

violent crackdown of the pro—democracy movement in china have come to symbolise the freedoms enjoyed in this city but many people here tonight via those freedoms are being eradicated. even though i am scared, even though the hong kong people here may be scared, but they still want to attend this to show it is our right. a controversial law criminalising the disrespecting of the chinese national anthem was passed. beijing plans to introduce a new security law the critics fear could change hong kong forever. the reason that i am here today is that i am afraid that china, after they passed the national security law in hong kong, we as hong kong is will have no other chance tojoin as hong kong is will have no other chance to join these gatherers. the governors is trying to reassure its citizens that the city will maintain the rights of freedom it has been promised but, as the security

law draws ever closer, the city presses for change. danny vincent, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news: a court in the us state of georgia has heard that one of the men accused of murdering ahmaud arbery used a racial slur after shooting him. travis mcmichael allegedly used the language and an expletive, as the young black man lay on the ground. mr arbery wasjogging when he was chased down by mr mcmichael and his father in february. police say they have received hundreds of calls over a new suspect over the disappearance of madeleine mccann. she is now assumed to be dead as german police are investigating a german national rigorously convicted of sex offences on suspicion of murder.

a vaccine summit reveals hundreds of millions of doses of any potential coronavirus vaccines will be made available to low and middle income countries. nba basketball is planning a return to the court. the sport's board of governors approved a plan that allows 22 teams to resume the regular season. they intend to play all games without fans, in orlando, florida. but the plan still needs approval from the players association. libya's internationally—recognised government says it's taken full control of the capital, tripoli. the city has been besieged by forces loyal to general khalifa haftar for over a year. rich preston has this report. these burnt out vehicles are all that remain of the forces of khalifa haftar as government troops celebrated their victory. the mission to control the city was deemed a success,

with the recapture of the airport. it has not been years since 2014 and it plays a symbolic role. he who has the airport has the city. 14 months of fighting have ravaged tripoli. when a general khalifa haftar bombarded the city with rockets and artillery, sending ordinary people fleeing for their lives. hundreds were killed in the fighting. general khalifa haftar had been loyal to the former dictator, colonel muammar gaddafi. eight years after he was toppled, chris reed wanted to instill himself asa reed wanted to instill himself as a new dictator with support from russia, the united arab emirates and neighbouring egypt. the government of national accord is backbite turkey and qatar. the trash backed by. livia's prime minister said control of tripoli was the start of a big operation. translation: our

battle is not over and we are determined to defeat our enemy and take control of the entire nation and for the eradication of all those who threatened our democratic free state. translation: take it will continue to stand on the right side. we will never leave our libyan brothers. our support for the libyan government will continue. with its fast oil reserves , continue. with its fast oil reserves, libya could be one of the richest countries in the world but the rule of colonel muammar gaddafi followed by yea rs of muammar gaddafi followed by years of violent have left the country devoid of infrastructure and security. diplomats now want to restart talks to bring about a ceasefire, with hope of long lasting peace with the people of this north african nation ripped apart. rich preston, bbc news. stay with us on bbc

news, still to come: pulling down the statues of america's slave—owning past — confederate monuments are removed in the wake of protests. the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the moment of crowning, in accordance with the order of service, by a signal given, the great guns of the tower. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali, who has died at the age of 74. outspoken but rarely outfought, ali transcended the sport of boxing, of which he was three times world champion. he was a good fighter and he fought all the way to the end, even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. today is the 20th anniversary

of the release of the beatles' lp, sergeant pepper's lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century. this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the latest headlines: the family and friends of george floyd, the african—american man who died while being detained by minneapolis police last week, have paid tribute to him at his memorial service. in hong kong, tens of thousands have commemorated the tiananmen square crackdown — defying a ban and challenging china. well, the reaction to the death of george floyd has sparked a wave of protests across the us unseen since the 1968 assassination of martin luther king jr. well, over the course of a decade, dr king became

synonymous with non—violent direct action as he worked to overturn systemic segregation and racism. clayborne carson is martin luther king junior centennial professor of history at stanford university and he joins us from palo alto. thank you very much for being with us. so we've seen these extraordinary scenes and protests right across the united states. what you think doctor king would have made of them? i think you would have been very pleased to see young people standing up for american ideals that the nation doesn't live up to often. and given that, we have had this violence, at times we have had protest kind of spontaneously springing up. what are the strengths and weaknesses as far as you see of what is happening right now? well, i think it is mostly the strengths. i think the press sometimes turns too

much on looting or vandalism, which has actually been a very minor part of this upsurge of activity. a few stores have been broken into during the march on washington, i hope most people would have paid attention to the main rest of the protests, not to some isolated incidents that have nothing to do with the protest. it's really more, i think, to me, it has to do with the police and focusing their attention on peaceful protesters while letting other potential targets for looters remain unguarded. so i think it is another example of bad policing. and on the protests again, then, what do you make of leadership in these protests ? of leadership in these protests? well, look, any time young people can turn out many

times the number of people who at the march on washington, 200,000, i'm absolutely certain the total number of people turning out to these protests far exceeds that, they have to be highly organised. i think if there is any criticism at all, and it is something i think is pa rt and it is something i think is part of the strength of the protest, and that is there is no central leader you can go to. back in 1964 you could go to. back in 1964 you could go toa to. back in 1964 you could go to a couple of people, get their comments and that would represent the rest of what was going on. today you have people independently organising massive protests in dozens of different cities and hundreds of different towns. so, obviously they know what they are doing. it'sjust obviously they know what they are doing. it's just there are many voices. and i think the central voice is one of let's

stop this, this is something that when you think about what it is like to grow up and come of age during a period when literally dozens of people have been killed in police custody, recorded on cellphones. so you have a younger generation that gets their news through social media, and what they have seen is police out of control. and not being held accountable. and any young person knows the difference between being held accountable and not being held accountable, by your parents are for example. so when you see policeman after policeman over getting acquitted or not even charged with murder, then thatis even charged with murder, then that is going to cause a reaction. and i am very, very pleased it has happened. reaction. and i am very, very pleased it has happenedm reaction. and i am very, very pleased it has happened. it is long overdue. thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and experience with us. we

really appreciate it, clayborne carson. thank you. thank you. the governor of the us state of virginia has ordered a key memorial to the slave—owning confederacy to be removed from the capital, richmond. ralph northam said the statue of robert e lee — who commanded the confederate forces during the american civil war — had to come down. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. for more than a century, robert e lee has looked out over the city of richmond. but not for much longer. these protesters voiced their anger at what they see as an ongoing symbol of racial injustice. and state officials now seem to agree yes, that statue has been there for a long time. but it was wrong then, and it is wrong now. so, we are taking it down. robert e lee commanded the forces of the confederate

states in their rebellion against the north during the american civil war. some still think of him as a hero, fighting for a lost cause. but even his descendants have come to believe that enough is enough. this statue is a symbol of oppression, and if it is a symbol, it becomes an idol, and if it becomes an idol, i am convinced as a christian, idols must be torn down. this issue is hardly new. various statues, symbols of the confederacy have been taken down in recent yea rs. been taken down in recent years. but the protests of the last few days of the killing of george floyd have added an extra sense of urgency. this is a surprise to us, but glad they are taking actions and they are taking what we're saying seriously. so we are glad to hear our voices are being heard finally because of the governors as the statue will be removed as soon as possible. but even when it's gone, the legacy of slavery will remain. tim allman, bbc news.

since the middle of march new york city has been on pause to stop the spread of coronavirus. mayor bill de blasio has said the city must move forward, and so on monday it will begin to reopen, with construction and limited retail allowed. laura trevelyan reports. estela johannesen is a one—woman florist these days, doing everything herself. but from monday, customers can come into the stores to collect flowers and she can hire back staff. coronavirus turned her livelihood upside down. it hitjust when we get really busy, notjust with easter, butjust spring overall, and then of course mother's day, i mean, which is the number one holiday for florists where we make — literally, we make the money for the slow summer. now estela worries the protests after george floyd's killing, which turned violent in some places, will set back new york's reopening. this storefront on her street was damaged. a lot of people are not going to be able to go back to work as expected on monday,

so therefore, people are not going to have money to spend. and flowers is not, like, the major thing. across new york city, small businesses are struggling with high rents and very little revenue. restaurants — the social heart for many blocks — probably won't open for in—person dining before july. "come on, andrea, please, open! because, we're tired of cooking!" andrea mocci opened for take—out after his customers begged him to. but he's not making money, and the nightly curfew isn't helping. he's planning on reopening at 50% capacity and has many worries. we don't know how the customer will react, if they will be afraid to go in a restaurant. do you think you'll be able to make money if the restaurant is only able to be half—full? maybe, in the best—case

scenario, maybe we can be even. but making money? new york's greatest strength is also its greatest vulnerability as it begins to reopen. people here live densely, it's what gives this city its vibrancy, but coronavirus preys on crowds, so we have to find a way to feel comfortable being around each other again. george bonnano, a clinical psychologist at colombia university, has studied how we respond to traumatic events. in my own research we've looked at, you know, for 30 years we've looked at all the bad things we can think of and get access to. and people are always resilient — and they're resilient because we find a way to deal with things. that's what estela under the watchful eye of lola is hoping for. i think flowers is the one thing that in any — i don't care what race, religion or culture you come from, they are used around the planet from the moment you are born till the moment you die.

new yorkers have been living in the epicentre of the global coronavirus outbreak and they‘ re grappling with the aftermath of the protests, too. now monday marks both the end of the curfew and the city's reopening. laura trevelyan, bbc news, new york. and now here is the weather. hello there. the warm and sunny days of the start of the week feel like a distant memory now as it's turning to cooler, more unsettled to end the week. friday into the weekend will be cool and showery, longer spells of rain in the north. it's also going to turn unusually windy for this time of year as well. the culprit is this area of low pressure, which has continued to deepen just to the north—east of scotland. it will continue to push in during the course of friday, bring some persistent rain across the north. further south, the winds picking up. it will be a blustery day for all with sunny spells but also blustery showers. some of these will be heavy and thundery at times, too. and those winds gusting 30—40 miles an hour. further north, 40—50 miles

an hour, even stronger than that by the end of the day and this rain will become persistent and heavy across the north and north—east of scotland. don't be surprised as well — with these sorts of temperatures of only around 9 degrees, you could see a little bit of snow in fact on the mountaintops of scotland. further south, around the mid—teens celsius. we could just make 17 degrees across the extreme south. now, as we move through friday night, it stays blustery, further showers at times. the rain in the north begins to push southwards into northern ireland and into northern england, north wales. those temperatures falling to lows of around 6—8 degrees. area of low pressure still with us moving very slowly southwards on saturday. again, a real squeeze in the isobars, particularly central and western parts of the country. so in fact we are likely to see gales through friday night and into saturday as that area of low pressure slowly moves southwards across the country. we could see gusts of 60 miles an hour, which could give rise to some disruptions, particularly strong for this time of year. there's the area of low pressure spiralling off the east coast of england, bringing further bands of rain or showers. again, some of these

will be heavy and thundery. further rain pushing into northern scotland but a little bit of a temperature recovery in the north. highs of 17 degrees there, in fact. mid—to—high teens further south. on sunday, a little bit quieter. our area of low pressure weakening still, just to the east of england. so, it looks like eastern parts of england could see most of the rain whereas further west will be a bit drier with a little bit of brightness breaking through. the winds will be later. so, it will feel that touch warmer across the board. as we head on into next week, looks like we'll start off rather cloudy and cool, mainly dry. but the winds will be light, and then if anything, it looks like high pressure will start to build back in through the week.

this is bbc news, the headlines: i'm lewis vaughan jones. the first of several memorial services have been held in the american city of minneapolis, to remember the life of george floyd, the 46—year—old black man, whose death has sparked several days of protests across the us, and around the world. tens of thousand of people in hong kong have defied a ban to turn out for a vigil on the anniversary of the tiananmen square crackdown. this year's vigil was banned by police citing coronavirus measures. some protesters said they were also standing against china's growing control over hong kong. german prosecutors, who are investigating the disappearance of the british girl madeline mccann say she's presumed dead. they say a jailed sex offender is the prime suspect. named only as christian b, the 43 year old lived in the part of portugal where madeleine was abducted in 2007.