this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. people are being urged to stay away from mass protests against racism this weekend, over fears they could increase the spread of coronavirus. a u—turn from the bosses of american football — admitting they were wrong to ban players from protesting against police brutality. chanting: i can't breathe! black lives matter protesters in the australian state of new south wales win an 11th—hour appeal to rally. the world health organization now says face masks should be worn in public — as nhs trusts in england say they weren't consulted on a decision to make all hospital staff wear them there are fears that thousands of uk small businesses could miss out

on coronavirus grants because of rising demand. and prince william reveals he's become a volunteer counsellor for a mental health charity. 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. people are being urged to stay away from mass—protests against racism this weekend, over fears they could increase the spread of coronavirus. there have already been large demonstrations in australia and japan over the death of george floyd in the united states — and rallies are planned across the uk later. in a tweet, the uk home secretary, priti patel urged people to stay

away "for the safety of all of us". the warning to avoid large gatherings comes as the world health organization changes its advice on face coverings, saying they should now be worn in public to help stop the spread of covid—19. here in the uk, some scientists are concerned the ‘r' number is increasing, meaning the virus may be starting to spread again, especially in the north—west and the south—west of england. ourfirst report this morning is from our correspondent, jon donnison your silence is racism! mass public protest while social distancing is a difficult ask. and after a week which has seen several uk demonstrations over the killing of george floyd in the us, the government here is asking people not to take to the streets this weekend. the reason that it's vital that people stick to the rules this weekend is to protect themselves and their family from this horrific disease. so please, for the safety

of your loved ones, do not attend large gatherings, including demonstrations, of more than six people. in the united states, the protests are on a scale not seen in decades. but there, too, there are concerns about what impact they might have on the spread of covid—19. black lives matter! here, some of those demonstrating have tried to keep two metres apart. but on twitter the home secretary, priti patel, also urged people not to attend, saying coronavirus remains a real threat. last night the world health organization changed its advice on the wearing of face masks. in light of evolving evidence, who advises that governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission, and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops, or in other confined or crowded environments.

in england, it will be compulsory to wearface masks on public transport from the 15th ofjune. the government hopes such measures will keep infection rates down, although some argue the advice has come too late. and the uk has passed another grim milestone, with more than 40,000 people having now died from covid—i9. the number of new deaths in all settings confirmed yesterday was 357. and there are concerns about the r rate, the number of people each infected person passes the virus onto. one computer model shows that in most areas of england the rate is thought to be just below the key figure of 1.0, except in the north—west and south—west, where it is estimated to be right oni.0. a different study says scotland, wales and northern ireland are on 0.8.

all right, then, off we go. so as children continue to return to school in many parts of england, the infection rate remains on a knife edge. too much so for tameside council in greater manchester, which is now strongly advising its schools not to reopen on monday. let's go back to the question of the protest rallies today. leroy logan is a former met police commissioner and one of the founders of the black police assocation. he joined protesters in central london earlier in the week, and says today's events need to be more effectively managed in orderto maintain social distancing... i think it is about how the marches are being conducted. if it is done in an orderly fashion with proper stewarding to ensure people keep as much social distancing as possible and there is good dialogue with the police, then i think it is something that can be managed.

what i saw on wednesday was there was a dense crowd, there was hardly any social distancing to speak of, there was no stewarding, and there was no police liaison to ensure that things were conducted in an orderly fashion. fortunately there were no injuries, i know there were one or two arrests, but it was a relatively positive event. i think in solidarity people should attend because it is a worthy cause notjust about george floyd and the whole of the black lives matter campaign but also about what is happening over here in the uk and making sure that we have safer and more secure society. when you say what's happening over here in the uk, you mean also... are you saying that there's a question of institutional racism that still needs adressing in the uk? absolutely.

i mean, i, myself and a couple of other colleagues in the black police association, gave evidence at the macpherson enquiry in 1998 to say that the police were institutionally racist and there was not much evidence to say that they are not. unfortunately there are still the disparities. even the covid virus fines, you're more than twice as likely to be fined if you are black than if you're white, so all the disparities are still there, and we need to make sure we address these issues, and there have been cases very similar to the george floyd case of airwayss being blocked and a person dying, obviously the officer in case was not convicted, but, you know, we're not totally spotless in this issue and we need to address these learning points just as much as the us. and so, i mean, many of our

viewers will be thinking about whether or not they should attend these protests today. would you say the onus is on them if they attend to observe social distancing, to wear face coverings to help to steward their own protest events, or do you think that is something where the police should also be stepping up and helping cooperate with them? well, i think it is both. i think everyone has to do their own sort of risk assessments, making sure that they have proper safeguards, even gloves as well as facemasks, and keep social distancing. and, of course, challenge to those who are not doing likewise and i would like to think that the police can be very high profile. i found on wednesday's march they were standing well back, they weren't controlling the junctions, and they were leaving people to their own devices, so i think you need to have police raising their game as well as the public to ensure that everyone is a safe and secure as possible.

leroy logan. well, these questions about public protection come up in so many different diving chains and the world health organization hasjust changed its advice and face mass and of course nhs trust say the government did not consult them before saying all hospital staff would be required to wear surgical masks. nhs providers say they have been left in the dark about significant changes in policy and accused ministers of making last—minute decisions on the hoof. saffron cordery is from nhs providers — she said it wasn't clear how many masks would be needed or how they would be distributed. what we need to be clear about is whether we actually have the supply, a sustainable supply of type one and type two masks in order to ensure that day in, day out,

we can supply our 1.1 million staff with the masks that they need, so it is this balance between supply and intention of the policy and we don't think we have those two coming together yet. ,1.1 million staff. of course, if staff are asked to wear masks, they will rightly expect to have them when they need them, and we will get to a point if the supply of masks runs out, and we know that worldwide stocks of ppe are not necessarily flowing with the ease that we would like to see, so if staff are seeing a situation where one day they have a mask and the next day they don't that is going to get incredibly challenging. more on the anti—racism protests, and in the united states, the nfl has responded to the anger

about police brutality and racism, by saying players should be allowed to drop to one knee in protest during the national anthem. the league had previously banned them from doing so, and president trump had said protesting players should be fired. our north america correspondent, david willis, reports. it is the national conversation: racial inequality, police brutality, injustice in america. unity in the cause symbolised by a simple gesture. police and protesters dropping to one knee. all that started with this man, back in 2016. san francisco quarterback colin kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem in protest at the racial injustice of the time. a single—minded act that led to him being mocked by president trump and ostracised by the league. kaepernick‘s contract was not renewed, and he has not played professional football since. but four years on, the sentiments he expressed then have come into sharp relief following the death of george floyd, prompting kaepernick‘s former colleagues to join the growing chorus for change. how many times do we need to ask

you to listen to your players? what will it take? for one of us to be murdered by police brutality? what if i was george floyd? if i was george floyd? some of the league's biggest names took part in this video calling on league officials to reject racism, and admit they were wrong back then in preventing the players from protesting peacefully. president trump, who four years ago called on team owners to sack players who took the knee, has re—entered the fray, taking to twitter to echo his previous refrain: "no kneeling." and while 75% of nfl players are black, the majority of the team owners are white, many of them supporters of the president. the league's commissioner would normally be expected to support mrtrump, but these are different times. admitting they had made mistakes, he instead backed the players. without black players, there would

be no national football league. and the protests around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality and oppression of black players, coaches, fans and staff. we are listening, i am listening. from the inner cities to the corridors of one of the most popular sports in the land, the calls for change are echoing in every corner of american life. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. a day of protests in response to george floyd's death is under way in australia. many thousands are demonstrating against racism and police violence, under the banner of ‘black lives matter‘. they are also highlighting the treatment of indigenous australians, who are often marginalised in society, and disproportionately represented in prisons. in sydney, a rally went ahead, despite initally being banned by local authorities.

the bbc‘s shaimaa khalil was among the crowd. oh, a huge cheer erupted in the crowd when one of the organisers announced that the decision was reversed and that the protest can go ahead. i must say, though, that the initial decision by the supreme court didn't stop hundreds and hundreds of protesters from gathering here in central sydney. the protest is now on the move. protesters are chanting, "black lives matter," "nojustice, no peace." a few minutes ago, actually, as they were walking they stopped and they took a knee, which has become a global gesture of protesting. this is notjust in solidarity with what's happening in the united states after the very public killing of george floyd, but also, they wanted to bring to the fore an issue which has long long been ignored here, which is indigenous deaths in police custody. in the last three decades, nearly more than 400 indigenous people have died in police custody. no—one was convicted

for any of those deaths. and so the aboriginal community is using the impetus, is using the momentum of what's happening around the world, of what's happening in the united states, to try and bring attention to an issue here in australia. many families feel that they haven't gotten justice. i was speaking to the mother of david dungay, a young aboriginal man who died five years ago almost in the exact same manner as george floyd, saying the exact same last words, "i can't breathe," and she said when she saw what was happening in the united states it was very difficult, but she thought that this was a catalyst, that she had to move and speak, notjust on her son's behalf but on the behalf of many aboriginal families here in australia. the headlines on bbc news... people are urged not to attend anti—racism protests amid fears they might spread coronavirus, after the number of deaths in the uk hits 40,000. a u—turn from the bosses

of american football — admitting they were wrong to ban players from protesting against police brutality. thousands of people have taken to the streets of sydney, australia to demonstrate against racism and police violence. it's being claimed that many care home residents have seen a steep increase in fees because of the extra costs of the coronavirus pandemic. the charity, age uk, says people who fund all, or part of, their care are having to pay well over £100 a week more. it's estimated that more than half the 400,000 people who live in care homes in england fall into the self—funding category. our social affairs correspondent, alison holt, reports. for many years, care home residents who fund themselves have effectively subsidised the care system, paying far more for the support they need than someone who is paid for by their local authority. age uk says that on average, self—funders are charged just over £850 per week. now some are seeing their fees rise by 15%.

the charity said it's adding insult to injury that self funders find themselves picking up the bill for extra protective equipment and increased staff costs resulting from the pandemic. the government has allocated £600 million towards helping care providers cover the costs of infection control as well as an extra £3.6 billion for council services generally. meanwhile the government had been expected to announce this morning whether it's met its target of testing all residents and staff in elderly care homes in england for covid—19 by earlyjune. that's not going to happen today. bbc news understands that testing kits have been sent to most homes, but one group of providers says hundreds of results have gone missing, and others argue that repeated testing is needed to curb the spread of the virus. the department of health and social care says an announcement on testing will be made in the coming days.

well, let's talk to simon blackburn, a ceo of the registered care providers association. thank you very much for talking to us. thank you very much for talking to us. couple of different issues there. let us talk first about the fees being charged to those who are being asked to those forced to fund their own care. is not something you have been concerned about? this is something we have been concerned about in the sector for over ten yea rs. about in the sector for over ten years. the competition in markets authority discovered something that the social care sector new for a long time is that private fundraisers are subsidising a failing social care service at the moment due to, you know, the withdrawal of public sector funding, they have been unable to pay adequate fees to providers, what providers have had to do is seek to increase their fees to private payers, to subsidise the shortfall infunding fortheir payers, to subsidise the shortfall in funding for their services, so

this does not surprise me, but it is pa rt this does not surprise me, but it is part of a far bigger picture that needs to be addressed by the current government through a reform of social care that has been called for full several years now. so it is a big, historic, systemic, problem but it is one that is exacerbated by the virus crisis so that these private self funders are being asked to pay more for all the ppe and other precautions? i am afraid that is the case. fee levels have never really gone up with the rising cost of care, gone up with the rising cost of ca re, let gone up with the rising cost of care, let alone inflation. in fact, the levels have gone down in real terms. it is something that the association... the local government association... national provide representative bodies have been calling out for the several years. my calling out for the several years. my sense is that the government knows that private funders are propping up the system at the moment, and are therefore scared to do anything to address, you know, the imbalance between fees that are

being paid, the huge increase ppe for example and additional staffing has got to come from somewhere. the funding that the government has provided over the last 2.5 months has helped his shows some of that up —— has helped to show some of that up, but really, we are trying to put the fire out with a couple of water, to be honest, at the moment. turning to be honest, at the moment. turning to the second point that i mentioned on the way into this intro, the question of testing targets and announcements around that, obviously the government's announcement has been delayed, but what is your assessment of the situation in terms of whether everybody in care homes, residents and staff are being tested now? so, the government has been under pressure to provide a robust testing framework for the whole of the social care sector since the beginning of the covid—19 outbreak. i think what the government has done

is, you know, plucked care homes for older people and people with dementia out of a huge range of service providers to do what i think is actually a pr stunt. it is laudable but if they achieve their target of testing everybody within homes by the end of today, hurrah, but actually it is like congratulating someone for running a 50 metre sprint when they have signed up for a marathon. it isjust not good enough, because what providers actually need is a robust testing system for all social care providers, into the future. that we are confident is running on in the background, and managing to support providers to control infection adequately. so, you know, this market in the sand for today is really, i think, market in the sand for today is really, ithink, a market in the sand for today is really, i think, a distraction, market in the sand for today is really, ithink, a distraction, a deliberate distraction from the absolute lack of infrastructure and capacity at the local level to deliver on testing in a robust

manner and i deliver on testing in a robust mannerand i can deliver on testing in a robust manner and i can give you examples of where it has gone wrong. you know, i think i have already said on this programme that one care home in my area had 66 tests done to all staff and all residents in a home, all of those tests were lost. and i know that story has been repeated across the country. one of the reasons that that is happening is that tests are having to go to the us to be processed in the labs, because the lab capacity in england and probably the uk has been so run down they cannot respond to the demands that the local authority is putting on local providers and the local provision of social services and health. can ijust... you paint and health. can ijust... you paint a grim picture, can ijust ask whether you do believe they have met what you describe is their 50 metres sprint, have they got to the finish line at least of the 50 metre sprint in your view? i think that we were

responding locally in somerset to those requirements. i must say, that there was no colds or consultation locally with the nhs or social services public health department about whether this was achievable or whether it was the right thing to do, there was no consultation with the experts, no consultation with national provider bodies either, so if it has been achieved in somerset i think that is due to the hard work of our local colleagues in making that achievable, but, as i say, what is the point of one test? because by the next day, test results are out of date, and they, because someone could bring an infection in the next day. so, as i reiterated, we need a robust infrastructure at the local level to test regularly, and i have got to say that is nonexistent, that does not exist as a specific service for the social care sector. the other really important thing to there, carry, is that focus has been

on care homes... just very briefly, simon, please. final point is that most people who are vulnerable and older are supported in the community by other services, home care particularly, and no focus on the metal. simon, i do take your point, but we do have to say that there, thank you so much for being with us. thank you very much. prince william has revealed that he has become a volunteer counsellor for a mental health charity. he's been trained to answer messages sent in to a helpline called ‘shout‘ which allows people to have conversations by text messaging. angus crawford reports. i've felt miserable for too long now. in a time of need, help can be just a text away.

as we reported last month, shout, the crisis text service, is a —year—old. its highest profile backers, the duke and duchess of cambridge, met volunteers on a video call to say thank you — and we can now reveal william had something special to tell them. i'm going to share a little secret with you guys, that i'm actually on the platform volunteering. are you! yes, lam. when he revealed that to us on our recent zoom call, the conversation just suddenly changed. it became the six of us chatting about what it's like to be a volunteer, and he was asking us for tips on how to cope with various things. it was just like talking to a member of the team, and i think that was just so refreshing. a life of public service, here flying east anglia's air ambulance. shout is a new text line that supports people who need a voice. he is now fully trained by shout and local volunteers, works from home, answering texts from people in need — anonymously, of course. we are hugely proud that the duke is now one of our family of 2000 crisis volunteers. he has great skills and experience and empathy with people in difficulty, and those are exactly these skills that we need in our crisis volunteers.

the royal couple at a shout event last year. now william hasjoined their ranks — a prince raising awareness about mental health, making a very personal connection with those in crisis. angus crawford, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. the weather we this weekend is quite different from previous weekends, we are still stuck in a school air stream. this was the picture early on across most southern parts of england, the promise, perhaps, of a decent day ahead, but the weather is changing and we have got this cloud curling around an area of low pressure in the north sea and that

is sinking its way southwards and taking that pick clad southward, bringing a spell of rain, —— taking that thick cloud southwards. for the east of england there will be some heavy showers as well. the rain probably not amounting to too much at this stage across the south but it will be windy, some blustery showers boning across the eastern side of england, the risk of sums thunder. —— blustery showers blown in. across the south and east of scotla nd in. across the south and east of scotland the wind should ease, sunshine coming out, this is the place to be, temperatures could make 19 or 20 degrees in the central belt. they showers do tend to fade away later on tonight. the rain that was in scotland move southwards towards the wash by the end of the night. a mention of the weather should improve for the second half of the weekend. we have got an area

of the weekend. we have got an area of high pressure in the west tantalisingly close but i think that is where it is going to stay for the time being. still some low pressure in the north—east and a northerly wind that it will be as windy on sunday. the rain moving down across northern england into the middle and should be lighter and patchy through the afternoon and fading away in scotla nd the afternoon and fading away in scotland and in many places brightening up a touch. more on the way of sunshine across southern england and wales means a better day here, a warmer day certainly, temperatures making 19 or 20 degrees here. this veg of high pressure that is moving a bit closer is going to be the more dominant feature i think during monday and tuesday. eventually as well a bring some rain into the north—west late on tuesday but elsewhere, i think it will be dry, afair but elsewhere, i think it will be dry, a fair bit of clout, some sunshine at times and we are seeing this temperature is near—normalfor the time of year. —— a fair bit of clout.

this is bbc world news, the headlines the uk government is urging people to avoid gatherings of more than six people — including anti—racism protests — this weekend. rallies are planned in support of the black lives matter campaign. the national football league in the united states has reversed its stance against players speaking out against police violence. the league's boss said it had been wrong to stop players from peacefully protesting during the national anthem. thousands of people have taken to the streets of sydney, australia to demonstrate against racism and police violence. the protest had been banned by a state court order, but was overturned just before the rally was due to start. the world health organization now says face masks should be worn in public, as nhs trusts in england say they weren't consulted on a decision to make all hospital staff wear them.