this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. there've been powerful calls for racial justice at the funeral of george floyd, whose killing by police has sparked anti—racism protests around the world. the un warns that anti coronavirus measures in north korea are making food shortages and economic hardship even worse. getting things moving again in moscow. the russian capital has loosened lockdown measures, even though thousands of new cases are reported every day. and zoos and safari parks can reopen in england from june 15 in the latest easing of the coronavirus lockdown.

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. the funeral of george floyd, whose killing by us police triggered anti racism protests around the world, has taken place in houston, texas. delivering the eulogy, the civil rights leader al sharpton called forjustice. mr floyd's family also paid tribute, with his niece, brooke williams, asking why the system was "corrupt and broken". barbara plett—usher reports from houston. after more than two weeks of protests, the man whose death energised a worldwide movement for racialjustice was laid to rest in his hometown. it was a final goodbye for those who loved him most. in the midst of personal grief, friends and family have been

thrust into a national convulsion, americans post into a passionate reckoning of historic wrongs. —— forced into. ijust want i just want to say, i love you. i thank god for giving me my own personal superman. no more hate crimes, please. someone said, make american great again, but when has america ever been great? those four officers were leaning on him for nine minutes and they never showed they had a heart or soul. this is notjust murder, but a hate crime. i want justice for my brother. my big brother. that is big floyd. everybody knows who big floyd is now.

incredible things have happened since george floyd's dying cries for breath, pinned to the ground by a policeman‘s knee. the guest list reflected the weight of the moment — politicians, celebrities, civil rights leaders, their presence a message that they'd heard the roar of voices raised in protest. the democratic presidential nomineejoe biden addressed mr floyd's young daughter in a recorded video message. no child should have to ask questions that too many black children have had to ask for generations, why? why has daddy gone? looking through your eyes we should also be asking ourselves, where the answer is so often too cruel and painful. why in this nation do too many black americans wake up knowing they could lose their life through the course of just living their life?

punctuating the sombre event, a display ofjoy and celebration, a home going celebration, they called it. george floyd was remembered as a champion basketball and football player, a gentle man despite his imposing height at six foot six, a regular guy from a rough neighbourhood. he may have been an unlikely catalyst for a pivotal moment in civil rights history, but his death brought out a veteran activist, reverend william lawson, who worked with martin luther king. this is a turning point, he said. back in the days when i used to be part of marches, all the marchers were black. but now, there are white people who know the story and hispanics who know the story and there are asians who know the story. george floyd will be buried next to his mother,

for whom he cried out as he lay dying. but that's not the end of his story. when his life stretched out in front of him, he once told a friend, "i want to touch the world." and that he has done. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, houston. donald trump has been promoting conspiracy theories again. you may have seen this video from last thursday. this was filmed in buffalo — and we see a 75—year—old man pushed by a police office. he falls backward — and hits his head. he then lies motionless as blood pools on the pavement. officers walk past. the man who fell is martin gugino — he remains in hospital in a critical condition. and two police officers were subsequently charged with assault. those officers have pleaded not guilty and they were applauded by fellow officers

as they left court. well, president trump has now got involved. today he's tweeted: "buffalo protester shoved by police could be an antifa provocateur. martin gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. note he references oann — the one america news network. it's unfailingly loyal to the president. and it ran a segment focused on a range of flimsy accusations about martin gugino. those accusations had been posted on a right wing website called conservative tree house. here's part of that report that was broadcast. a new report finds the tensions could be a result of a false revocation by antifa. according

to the conservative tree saturday, 75—year—old protester isa saturday, 75—year—old protester is a well—known activist ragging on social media about far left views. well, president trump's decision to tweet this conspiracy theory has been widely condemned. the former republican senator jeff flake tweeted: and this is what new york governor andrew cuomo has said. what you think, it was stage? do you think the blood coming out of his head was stage? is that what you're saying? you saw his head hit the pavement, you see blood on the pavement! maybe he fell harder than he was pushed. how reckless, how irresponsible, how mean, how

cruel? i mean, if there was ever a reprehensible, cruel? i mean, if there was evera reprehensible, dumb comment from the president of the united states, at this moment, of anguish and anger, what does he do? put someone underfire. if there what does he do? put someone under fire. if there was ever, if you ever feel the moment of decency, —— if he ever, he should apologise for that tweet, because it is wholly unacceptable. governor cuomo there. the episode has exposed america's racial divisions to the greatest degree since the 1960s. the democratic presidential candidate, joe biden, said mr floyd's death was ‘one of the great inflection points in american history'. i'm been speaking to keisha blain, who is an associate professor of history at the university of pittsburgh. i asked her if the recent

anger of the past ten days was now changing to something more optimistic. i think so. i think several recent developments suggest that we might be moving in the right direction. certainly with changes to the police department in minneapolis. we're still waiting for details to unfold, but based on what we've heard so far, it seems that we are beginning to move closer to making, i think, some meaningful changes. what is america polarised on this? when you see how donald trump is reacting to this idea of defunding or disbanding the police department, i mean, he is the polar opposite, isn't he of calling for changes? he is, but that's not too surprising. given his record. we've long

seen how his attitude toward policing, toward black communities, so we're not too surprised by his response. i think what is encouraging is just the way people are coming together collectively across the nation, but also across the globe, recognising this is a moment where we could, in fact, change the system. i think that is certainly encouraging far beyond trump's stand, which as isaid,... beyond trump's stand, which as i said,... how much of this has been driven by black lives matter because this is an organisation that haven't been around for very long? we absolutely have to credit black lives matter. officially starting around 2014, bringing theissue starting around 2014, bringing the issue of police violence and brutality to the forefront and brutality to the forefront and demanding that we actually wa nt to and demanding that we actually want to talk about it and to come up with strategies to change what's happening in the us. and i think that the recent protests are absolutely an

extension, a part of that larger movement which began only fairly recently in our history. the un is warning that food shortages and hunger in north korea are being made worse by coronavirus measures and by the five month closure of the border with china. the un special rapporteur on human rights in north korea says the number of homeless people, including street children, has increased and that medicine prices have skyrocketed. tomas ojea quintana told me more. the number of people is very difficult to access, access to the ground has been very difficult. the and humanitarian agencies who used to work on the ground in north korea, at this moment, are not allowed to go to the provinces, to the region, where all the people are basically. we are talking

about people, even before the covid—19 crisis, were facing food and securities. this is about 11 million people, according to statistics, who are underfood according to statistics, who are under food insecurity, facing malnutrition, stunted growth. in addition to the situation is the problem of food shortages, because of the shutdown of the borders, basically with china, you should know that the trade with china declined in march and in april. almost 90%. the reports i've been receiving, which are reliable, show a picture where the population was at risk of food insecurity and now facing a four coric. you know, we

should remember that you're in the 90s, there is a dramatic famine in north korea. —— facing a food shortage. it killed 1 million people. in very dramatic circumstances. now the covid—19 crisis is bringing about the same circumstances. the problem we had though is that pyongyang denies that even has coronavirus. it's one of the most opaque administrations in the world, as we all know. how is that going to change and how much criticism you might level out? not much optimism that there will change, is there?|j should there will change, is there?” should refer... ishould there will change, is there?” should refer... i should say the leader of north korea, him john whom, in the recent meeting —— kim jong—un. john whom, in the recent meeting —— kimjong—un. he recognised the hardships of the people for north korea committed to work for their

livelihoods. now, the reality is that it is not all been located to bring these people toa located to bring these people to a better livelihood and on the other hand, as i say, the humanitarian agencies are not allowed to go to these areas. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: demonstrators are demanding the removal of a statue of cecil rhodes, one of the most controversial figures in the story of the british empire.

this is bbc world news, our main headline this hour: the funeral service for george floyd, whose death at the hands of us police sparked worldwide protest, has been held in texas. the united nations is warning

that some people starving in north korea because of measures is taken to fight coronavirus and having shut its border with china. in russia, the number of coronavirus infections continues to rise rapidly. there are now 476 thousand confirmed cases nationwide and more than six thousand deaths. the capital city moscow has some two thousand new cases in the city each day, but despite this, a strict permit system is ending, allowing people to move freely around. our correspondent there, sarah rainsford, has more on what's changing in the capital. after more than ten long weeks of lockdown here in moscow, suddenly, it's all over. the moscow mayor has declared that people are free to come out on the streets when they want, to go where they want and to see who they want. after being extremely cautious during this lockdown, the mayor has declared a victory over coronavirus. now, you still have to wear a mask when you're out on the streets, although most people don't really bother. and the general mood, talking to people here, is one of huge relief.

translation: i think they should have done it ages ago. i'm very happy. the measures worked, but not totally. people were going outside anyway. translation: out that my mask on now. i have a one i made myself. it's our first day outside today. -- i'll —— i'll put my mask on now. i was in the metro, and i was so happy to be back in society, to see people. it was so joyful. but the risk hasn't gone away. in fact, in moscow, they are up to 2000 cases of coronavirus still being detected every single day, so the worry is for some that this is actually a decision motivated by politics rather than the pandemic. there is a victory day parade that's been rescheduled two weeks from now, and after that, a key vote for president putin, constitutional reforms that will allow him to stay in power for another two terms. so it seems the kremlin may want a boost in the mood and in the economy ahead

of those key dates. now, the city authorities say it's still not safe to let people sit on benches in the city because of the virus, but they have allowed barbershops, hairdressers and beauty salons to open again. as we go inside, it's not only masks we have to wear, but gloves now. i'lljust pop these on. it's actually easier said than done. yes, from now on, we can open our doors to our clients. we were waiting for this moment for so long. so do you think you'll get any clients today? you can open today. we would like to, but unfortunately, we can't because yesterday was unexpected news for us. very happy, but still unexpected, so we have a lot of things to do today. yesterday, i got maybe 100 calls from my friends and our clients. they are asking if they can come today at eight o'clock in the morning. the next stage in a week is for

summer terraces and verandas to open at cafes and restaurants, and then after that, the restaurants themselves. there will be strict social distancing measures in place, but whether everyone sticks to those is another question. is also happening over here. in the latest easing of the coronavirus lockdown in england, it'sjust been announced that zoos, safari parks and drive—in cinemas can reopen from june 15. it's on condition that they can uphold social—distancing rules. the prime minister is expected to confirm later on wednesday here's our political correspondent nick eardley. this is all part of the government trying to gradually ease the lockdown in england and try and get some aspects of the economy moving again. so also, from monday in england, nonessential shops are going to start reopening. slightly different in northern ireland where it's happening this week. scotla nd where it's happening this week. scotland and wales haven't

announced when they'll make the same move yet. downing street has been really careful to emphasise doing this slowly and doing it based on the science gradually. it doesn't want to ta ke gradually. it doesn't want to take any gradually. it doesn't want to ta ke a ny moves gradually. it doesn't want to take any moves just yet. there's clearly a feeling within the government in the uk that they need to start getting elements of the economy moving again slowly and dipping their toe in the water to see what they can get moving.” toe in the water to see what they can get moving. i didn't realise we have that many driving cinemas actually, but how star has a government been about the criticism of schools —— stern. they been criticised for not making educational schools a priority. it seems pubs will open before schools. it looks that way. that may well be the case. the government had planned for all primary school pupils in england to be back before the summer england to be back before the summer holiday. that's not gonna happen now. many of them are going to be back in school

before at least september —— florence,. that is a big deal for the government because this was part of the plan to get school pupils but therefore their parents go back to work —— aren't going to be back in school. trying to get that gradual moving of the economy again. i think it's also worth reminding that walls government may announce their intentions, it's always in their hands. the fa ct it's always in their hands. the fact schools are really opening up fact schools are really opening upfora number of fact schools are really opening up for a number of reasons. it's because some unions weren't happy, some members of the public were still quite relu cta nt to the public were still quite reluctant to send their children back, and it's also because quite frankly, the government doesn't have a com plete government doesn't have a complete control over the practicalities of this. we know that schools quite simply said, " if that schools quite simply said, "if you are having class sizes to make sure social distancing is in force, and we're not going to be able to bring everybody back." they been saying that for weeks now. so this is definitely a big challenge for the government. it's trying to persuade everybody that this is

desirable, but also that it's possible and i suspect that the challenge that they will fix with some other things like try to get schools and the hospitality sector moving again. after a statue of edward colston was toppled, attention has now turned to other public statues. there's a large protest outside an oxford college tonight demanding that the statue of the imperialist cecil rhodes is taken down too. from there, reeta chakra barti reports. oxford, the latest flashpoint in a national clamour for change. this battle has been going on for years. cecil rhodes, a 19th—century imperialist represents for these protesters, the unacceptable face of british history and they want his statue gone. he is basically a crook, in my opinion, who went to other countries and exploited those countries for his own game. he doesn't stand for my

values and i don't want to see him celebrated. i am here with my little sister, we are from botswana and her father was made stateless by an apartheid government that was in part started and definitely helped to perpetuate by cecil rhodes. i am from germany myself, black, half white. i know how important it is to look critically into the history and there are certain parts of all cultures which are quite negative. the killing of george floyd has sparked protests across the world and the uk. in bristol this weekend, this ended with the controversial toppling of the statue of the slave trader, edward colston. but should history be obliterated in this way? the statues of street names to do with slavery, in 50 years time you will forget

the history of that slavery. maybe some racists might be quite happy for you to take them down because you are taking down your history. he backs the action in edinburgh today to add a plaque to the melville eyes of henry dundas to the slave trade. plymouth is doing the same with a statue of sir francis drake. in denbigh in wales there is pressure to take down henry stanley. in london, the monument of robert milligan was removed with a review of all the capital's statues and street names announced by the mayor. they say they want to raise a racist monument from the streets of oxford, but even if others agree, and it is a big if, how does this help solve the deep inequalities that exist in the uk between black and white? —— erase a racist monument. i hope it is a catalyst for a conversation and

a catalyst for policy change. i want my child to go to school and to know the full story, uncomfortable truths about how this united kingdom became great. it became great because it enslaved millions of people. silence for the minutes it took for george floyd to die. the killing of a black man thousands of miles away has prompted a massive soul searching here at home. and in a statement, oriel college in oxford said: that is it so far for this.

from me, tim wilcox and the team, bye—bye. hello there. we'll take a look at the uk unsettled weather picture in just a moment, but first of all, one place that has seen some very high temperatures over the last 24 hours is the arctic circle, where temperatures reached 30 celsius on tuesday. amazing to think temperatures can get that high that far north, but they do from time to time. that, though, could be a newjune record for that particular area. looking at our weather picture, it is unsettled. we saw rain gathering across the northwest of the uk yesterday, and that was associated with an area of low pressure, and that low pressure is moving right over the heart of the united kingdom for today. often cloudy with spells of rain that could be lengthy and heavy at times. some of the heaviest bursts of rain in the west.

wales and north—west england. there will be some areas that don't see much rain. but i think they're be the lucky few. for most of us very wet with temperatures between 14 and 18. for most of us. once the rain has moved south, this particular area of low pressure will deepen and move back and influence our weather for six days. we have rain moving into england and wales. on thursday some of the heaviest rain could be in north—east england. it could turn very wet here for a time. and increasingly as we go through the next few days, when the rain does come, it will become heavy. thursday is a windier day and will feel more humid as well. for friday, we have got further bands of rain pushing north. probably the heaviest coming into the south. a chance of thundery

down pours and may see some localised flooding. the less rainy weather in the north—west. that continues into the weekend. saturday, is a day of sunshine and heavy thundery showers. the showers could be intense and the he heaviest in wales and south—west england. humid and highs up to 24. but staying unsettled.

this is bbc news, the headlines...

the funeral of george floyd, whose killing by us police triggered anti—racism protests around the world has taken place in houston, texas. the eulogy was delivred by the civil rights leader al sharpton who made an impassioned plea for police reform and racialjustice. the un has issued a stark warning that food shortages and hunger in north korea are being made worse by coronavirus measures, and the five month closure of the border with china. the human rights investigation also says the number of homeless people — including street children is increasing. the russian capital has loosened it's lockdown measures, even though coronavirus infections continues to rise rapidly. in the past week moscow has seen around two thousand new cases — but the strict permit system is being brought to an end so that people can move around freely.