this is bbc news. i'm mike embley, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the funeral of african—american george floyd — whose death in police custody caused global outrage — hears impassioned pleas for racial justice. until we know the price for black life, is the same as the price for white life, we're going to keep coming back to these situations over and over again. president trump provokes criticism by accusing an elderly protester who was injured by the police of being an extremist provocateur. demonstrators demand the removal of a statue of cecil rhodes, one of the most controversial figures in the story of the british empire. the russian capital loosens its lockdown measures

even though thousands of new cases are being reported every day. the funeral of george floyd, whose killing by us police triggered anti—racism protests around the world, has taken place in houston, texas. it was his home town. 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 home town. 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 forced into a passionate reckoning of historic wrongs. i want to say to him i love you andi i want to say to him i love you and 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? applause those four officers were leaning on him for nine —— literally 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. in so we know the prize for black life is the same as the prize for white life, were going to keep coming back to these situations over and over again —— untilwe these situations over and over again —— until we know the price for black life is the same as the price for white life, we're going to keep coming back to the situation is over and over again. 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 in the course ofjust living their life? punctuating the sombre event, a display ofjoy and celebration, a "homegoing 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 there are hispanics who know the story and there

are asians who know the story. singing 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. well, on the day that was all going on, donald trump was 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 from his head 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. @0ann i watched, he fell harder than was pushed. was aiming scanner. could be a set up?" note there 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, it has to be said. those accusations had been posted on a right wing website

called conservative treehouse. here's part of that report that was broadcast. a new report find the latest tensions could be the results ofa tensions could be the results of a false flag provocative case and by antifa. 75—year—old protester martin gugino, shoved by the police at last we's protest is a well—known activist, bragging on social media about fire left views. that from the network. well, president trump's decision to tweet this conspiracy theory has been widely condemned. the former republican senatorjeff flake tweeted: "trafficking in conspiracy theories like these is beneath your office, mr president." and this is what new york governor andrew cuomo has said. what do you think it was, it was staged?! you think the blood coming out of his head was staged?! is that what you are saying? you saw his head hit the pavement! you saw blood on the pavement. maybe he fell harder than he was pushed? how

reckless, how irresponsible, how mean, how crude. i mean, if there was ever a reprehensible dumb comment, and from the president of the united states at this moment of anguish and angen at this moment of anguish and anger, what does he do? pause gasoline on the fire. if there was ever — if he ever feels a moment of decency, he should apologise for that tweet. because it is wholly unacceptable. governor cuomo there. many of the largest protests of the last two weeks have taken place in washington, dc, with much of the attention focussed on and around the white house. muriel bowser is the mayor of washington, dc and she joins me now. it is very good to talk to you. thank you very much for your time. thank you, thanks to having me. the song change is

going to come heard at the funeral today. we all look the turning point. it looked like a change was going to come and not much change has come yet. does this feel like a moment for you? it feels like a moment definitely. and i especially see it in the young people who we have seen out in american cities in droves demanding change. they are a generation who is — who has experienced this police violence on camera. from bystander video, from dust camera, from body worn cameras ina way camera, from body worn cameras in a way that people from gen x haven't. so they will keep pushing for national change, for local change and use their voices at the ballot box. and what are the chances of it, do you think? i know you have been

putting the president to remove federal troops from washington, dc. he has the right to do that, doesn't he, because dc is not a state as such? even as a democrat you must have back channels with the white house. what are you hearing out of the public eye, as it were? well, certainly we have conversations with the white house on very mundane issues, two issues of national importance like this one. they recognise i'm going defend washington, dc, that we think their actions were just egregious, not just think their actions were just egregious, notjust in bringing active military duty troops to the nations's capital, but also forcibly removing protesters so the president could make a speech. there have been people "policing" these demonstrations with no insignia or id. do you

know who they were? with no insignia or id. do you know who they were ?|j with no insignia or id. do you know who they were? i have received after they were here and recognised, and refused to identify themselves. some communications from the justice department, as to which agencies were in dc. so they we re agencies were in dc. so they were not just militia agencies were in dc. so they were notjust militia or civilian militia ? were notjust militia or civilian militia? well, we assume not. although their agencies were identified, the average person wouldn't be able to tell, looking at them. tell us to tell, looking at them. tell us about the decision to have black lives matter painted in those huge letters on the street leading up to the white house. it's quite a gesture. but there has been criticism, hasn't there, but it is just a gesture, but it is performative and easier than bringing about real change? well, we know that our streets and plazas and circles all over the united states and all over the world

are filled with symbols. statues, named buildings, named streets. and they all represent a feeling in the community, sometimes reverence, sometimes protest. in this case, black lives matter plaza is an affirmative statement about where our country is. it is also an affirmative statement about streets being controlled by the people of washington, dc. what do you make of the fence that has been erected around the white house? presumably there are questions to the president, to protect the president, but it has become a symbol of something else, it seems? it has. ithink it was meant, this whole last week was meant to be a big show of federal force week was meant to be a big show of federalforce against americans, to intimidate americans, to intimidate americans, but i think what we are americans, but i think what we a re left americans, but i think what we are left with is this huge fence around the white house. and in our country, that house is meant to be open to the

public. there is a big expanse of lawn in the front where people can just walk on and play games on. and all of that is shut off from the public. it is shut off from the public. it is temporary, i am told, and that they are going to begin to ta ke that they are going to begin to take it down tomorrow. also, probably unexpected, right in front of the house on black lives matter plaza, people have erected memorials to the protest. yes, as you say, becoming a symbol of something else entirely. let's talk about dc, if we can't. it's a very black city but there are huge disparities in income, wealth and standard of living and healthcare. you have enormous work to do there was denmark well, we have enormous work to do in closing income gaps in most american cities. and ours is no different. i have had the privilege of being mayor for the last five years, where we

have made historic investments in affordable housing, for example was that $100 million a yearfor example was that $100 million a year for five years. example was that $100 million a yearforfive years. enormous strides in ending homelessness. we know one of the big divides is in health, and this covid—19 pandemic is really shining a light on health disparities in this country. i have been pleased with the budget i have now before my council to invest in two new hospitals, and in an integrated system of care in some of our most vulnerable communities. so the workers ahead of in our city —— and our city is well situated, even with covid—19 lockdowns, to make these big investments. what is your response to defund the police or take away many things that are currently police response of relatives and give money that currently goes to the police do other departments to do that work was denmark the mayor of minneapolis has been very outspoken against deaths in police custody but says he

cannot support defunding the police there and has taken criticism for it. what is your position? well, we know the public safety question is more than just bullies. it includes diversion programmes, it includes opportunity programmes. but we need the police that we need and we need good police in our communities to make sure they have the training and can recruit the best of the best and they have the equipment that we need. so i believe that you have two in —— must invest in safety programmes, but also having no police department is a no go. thank you for talking to us. thank you for talking to us. thank you. testing 12 stay with us on bbc news, still to come: in the latest easing of england's lockdown measures zoos and safari parks can reopen from next monday.

the day the british liberated the falklands. and by tonight, british troops had begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the west german capital, this was gorby—mania at its height. the crowd packed to see the man who for them has raised great hopes for an end to the division of europe. it happened as the queen moved towards horse guards parade for the start of trooping the colour. gunshots the queen looks worried but recovers quickly. as long as they'll pay to go and see me, i'll get out there and kick 'em down the hill. what does it feel like to be the first man to go across the channel by your own power? it feels pretty neat. it feels marvellous, really.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the funeral of african—american george floyd, whose death in police custody caused global outrage, hears impassioned pleas for racialjustice. president trump provokes criticism by accusing an elderly protester, who was injured by the police, of being an extremist provocateur. tens of thousands of people across the uk have taken part in a wave of anti—racism protests, triggered by george floyd's death. many hope the protests will be a catalyst for change. after a statue of the slave—trader edward colston was toppled in bristol on sunday, attention has turned to other public statues. there was a large protest outside an oxford college demanding that the statue of the imperialist cecil rhodes is taken down too. from there, reeta chakra barti reports. 0xford, the latest flashpoint in a national clamour for change.

this battle though 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 crop, 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? scotland's first black professor says not. i am absolutely adamant that if you start removing the statues or 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 monument making clear the ties 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? it is huge symbolism. 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. reeta chakra barti. and in a statement 0riel college in oxford said:

it doesn't really answer the main question. brazil has restored detailed covid—19 data to the official national website after the government was criticised for removing it earlier this week. a ruling by a supreme court justice said the information, containing the number of cases and breakdowns by state, had to be made public again. the move caused outrage across the political spectrum with many politicians accusing presidentjair bolsonaro of whitewashing brazil's rising death numbers for political gain. 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 the easing of restrictions on outdoor attractions where people remain in theircars, because the risk of spreading

the disease is lower outside. 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 aspect 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 is happening this week. scotland and ireland have not announced when they will make the same move yet. downing street has been really careful to emphasise it is doing this slowly and it is doing it based on the science, gradually. it does not want to take any big moves just yet but clearly there is a feeling within the government in the uk that they need to start getting elements of the economy moving again, slowly, and dipping their toes

in the water to see what they can get moving. in russia, the number of coronavirus infections continues to rise rapidly. there are now a76 thousand confirmed cases nationwide and more than six thousand deaths. the realfigure the real figure may the realfigure may be much more than that. 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.0ur 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: i'll put my mask on now. i have one i made myself. it's our first day outside today. 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, its 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. sarah rainsford, bbc news. that is it for now, thank you for watching. 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 2a 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. 0ften 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 1a 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 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 delivered by the civil rights leader al sharpton, who made an impassioned plea for police reform and racial justice. president trump chose the same date to promote a conspiracy theory, that the man pushed over in a protest in buffalo last week was and extremist provocative her. —— provocateur. a lawyer representing the man says his family are at a loss as to why mr trump had made "a dark, dangerous and untrue accusation" against him. demonstrators demand the removal of a statue of cecil rhodes, one of the most controversial figures in the story of the british empire.