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. george was somebody who was i was welcoming, i was made people feel special. we want justice for george and he is going to get it. protests continue in cities across the us — this is the scene in washington where crowds are gathering

outside the white house. in hong kong, tens of thousands commemorate the tiananmen square crackdown defying a ban and challenging china. back in control of tripoli — libya's internationally recognised government says it's driven out rival forces loyal to general haftar. as new york retailers prepare to re—open next week — how can business blossom amid the pandemic and protests? 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 was powerful, man, 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 just 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 in georfgia's name and say, it's time for us to stand up in georgia's name and say, get your knee off our necks! it's time for us to stand up in george'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 8 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: nojustice, no peace. promising that this time will be different. 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, in minneapolis. our north america correspondent, david willis, says it was a very sombre mood at the memorial service. 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. to hong kong now. june the fourth is usually the day they mark the anniversary of the tiananmen square crackdown in china. every year, hundreds of thousands of people march in the vigil. but this year, police banned the event for the first time,

because of coronavirus. despite that, take a look at this. thousands of people gathered in hong kong ignoring the ban. this was just hours after the territory's legislature approved a bill that outlaws insults to china's national anthem. allison sherlock, is a china analyst from the eurasia group. she gave us her analysis on both the ban of tiananmen vigil in hong kong and the new anthem law. the chief executive did bring up coronavirus, in her recent press conferences in beijing, saying it still presents a serious public health risk, but that begs the question, if it is such a high—risk, why has she been relaxing social distancing measures over the last month and why is she specifically targeting protests now? i think, in reality, the local government is still anxious about unrest. over the last couple of weeks, we have seen the hong kong police tightened security in advance of planned demonstrations, and bringing

out crowd control techniques and mass arrests to try and get people off of the street. and mass arrests to try and get people off of the streets. so it follows that, of course, this visual would be banned. 0n the legislation, what do you make of it being passed, this idea that ridiculing the anthem, the flag is now against the law? this bill, it's been very controversial since it was first proposed, even resulting in scuffles in the legislature and demonstrations on the streets. while this bill alone may not seem significant in comparison to the scope of the national security legislation, which proposes to criminalize all acts of sedition,

its passage today symbolized bejing has taken control of legiaslature. in the past the pro— democratic minority was able to block or at least delay or disrupt certain wheels but within the last month, they have control over the legislative agenda, beijing, and in addition to other more restrictive regulations, this control is going to be really important for them. given that control, what do you think that means for the future of hong kong? you think of the economic powerhouse, those huge business based there, if this control tightens, what is the impact? i think that, before all this was announced a couple of weeks ago, there was a misconception that beijing would never dare to implement drastic political change in hong kong forfear of weakening the appeal of hong kong's financial and commercial environment, which is a key interest for the leadership themselves, but the leadership correctly calculated that the biggest

local players, like hsbc, who gave support to the bill, have no choice but to remain in hong kong and comply with new regulations. we see right now that the biggest local players are moving early to co—operate and making sure there is no disruption to the business operations. 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 general 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 but plays a symbolic role — he who has the airport has the city. 14 months of fighting have ravaged tripoli.

when general haftar‘s eastern libyan forces stormed the city, last april, they bombarded it with rockets and artillery, sending ordinary people fleeing for their lives. hundreds were killed in the fighting. general haftar had been loyal to the former dictator, colonel gaddafi. eight years after he was toppled, many say khalifa haftar wanted to install himself as the new dictator. he had support from russia, the united arab emirates and neighbouring egypt. the internationally—recognized gna, the government of national accord, is backed by turkey and qatar. speaking on a visit to turkey, libya's prime minister said control of tripoli was just the start of a bigger 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: turkey will continue to stand with the right side. we will never leave our libyan brothers. our support to libya's recognized government will continue. with its vast oil reserves, libya could be one of the richest countries in the world, but the rule gaddafi, followed by yea rs of violence, 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 for the people of this north african nation which has been 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. now, the reaction to the death of george floyd has sparked a wave of protests across the us, not seen since the 1968 assassination of martin luther king jr. over the course of a decade, dr king became synonymous with non—violent direct action as he worked to overturn systemic segregation and racism. what would he have made

of the current protests? well, clayborne carson is martin luther king junior centennial professor of history at stanford university. i think he 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've had protests 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. you know, 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.

you know, if a few stores had been broken into during the march on washington, i hope that most people would have paid attention to the main thrust of the protest, 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 focusing their attention on peaceful protesters and leaving other potential targets for looters unguarded. so i think it's another example of bad policing. and on the protests again, then, what do you make of leadership in these protests? well, look, any time young people can turn out many times the number of people who were at the march on washington, which was 200,000, and i'm absolutely certain the total

number of people turning out in this protest far exceeds that, they have to be highly organised. i think if there is any criticism at all, and it's something i think is part of the strength of the protest, and that's there's no central leader that you could go to. back in 1964 you could go to a couple of people and get their comments and that would represent the thrust 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're doing. it's just that there are many voices. but i think the central voice is one of ‘let‘s stop this', that 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've seen is police out of control and not being held accountable. and any young person knows the difference between being held accountable and not held accountable — by your parents, for example. so when you see policeman after policeman either getting acquitted or not even charged with murder, then that is going to cause a reaction. and i am very, very pleased that it's happened. it's long overdue. professor clayborne carson. the governor 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're 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, that the idols must be torn down. cheering this issue is hardly new. various statues, symbols of the confederacy have been taken down in recent years. but the protests of the last few days over the killing of george floyd have added an extra sense of urgency. this is a surprise to us, but we're glad, like, they're taking actions and they're taking what we're saying seriously. so we're glad to hear our voices are being heard, finally. the governor says 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. and 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 vulnerability as it begins to reopen. people here live densely, it's what gives the 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. that is it. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones.

i'm lewis vaughan jones, i'm lewis vaughanjones, and this is bbc news. bye—bye. 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—a0 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 nine 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 in police custody has sparked worldwide protests. reverend al sharpton delivered the eulogy, and guests included civil rights activist, jesse jackson. protists have continued in several cities. this is the scene live in washington, crowds gathering outside

the white house. 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. now on bbc news, panorama. america is reopening, as its covid death toll reaches 100,000. butjust weeks ago, so many were dying in new york that bodies were left to rot on the streets. i'm not going to sugar—coat this in any way. very upsetting. i'm hilary andersson. for decades, i've worked as a reporter on wars and disasters all over the world, but i never expected to see a crisis of this scale — in my own country. we were looking at a freight train coming across the country. we're now looking at a bullet train. two months ago, i began filming my journey to