this is bbc news. a very warm welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america, or around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: the funeral of george floyd — whose death in police custody caused global outrage — hears impassioned pleas for racialjustice. 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. many of the largest anti—racism protests have been in the american capital. we speak to the mayor of washington, dc, about her relationship with the white house. they recognise that i am going

to defend washington, dc, and their actions werejust egregious. president trump provokes criticism by accusing an elderly protester who was injured by the police of being an extremist provocateur. and we hearfrom a gospel singer who performed at george floyd's funeral service. hello to you. the funeral of george floyd — whose killing by us police triggered anti racism protests around the world — has been held in houston, texas. delivering the eulogy, the civil rights leader al sharpton called forjustice. the floyd 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. sobs 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 literally on him for nine minutes and none of them 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's 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. 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. 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's daddy gone? looking through your eyes,

we should also be asking ourselves — why the answer is so often too cruel and painful. why in this nation do too many black americans wake up knowing that they could lose their life in the course ofjust living their life? # it's been a long, long time coming... 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 66", 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. applause 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. many of the largest protests of the past few weeks have been in washington, dc, much of it around the white house. muriel bowser is the mayor of washington, dc. she explains why mr floyd's funeral felt like a turning point. it definitely feels like a moment. 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 dash cams, from body—worn cameras in a way that even people of my generation, x, haven't. so i think that 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've been pushing 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 to issues of national importance like this one. and they recognise that i am going defend washington, dc, that we think their actions were just egregious, notjust in bringing military active duty troops to the nations's capital, but also forcibly removing protesters so that the president could make a speech. there have been people "policing", in inverted commas, some of these demonstrations with no insignia, no id. a lot of question marks about who they are. do you know who they were? well, i have received after they were here and recognised, and refused to identify themselves. some communications from thejustice department, as to which agencies

were in dc. so they weren't just civilian militia, right—wing militia? well, we assume not because their agencies were identified, but the average person wouldn't be able 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 dc streets being controlled by the people of washington, dc. muriel bowser. the mayor of washington, dc. on the day all that was happening, president trump chose to promote conspiracy theories again. you'll probably have seen this video from buffalo, new york, last thursday. a 75—year—old man approaches police and is then pushed by an officer. he falls back and hits his head, then lies motionless as blood from his head pools on the pavement. officers walk past. the man who fell, martin gugino, is still in critical condition. two officers were charged with assault, prompting a walkout by fellow officers. they were applauded today by colleagues as they left court after pleading not guilty. and president trump has tweeted: " buffalo protester shoved by police could be an antifa provocateur. martin gugino was pushed away

after appearing to scan police communications to black out the equipment. i watched, he fell harder than was pushed. was aiming scanner. could be a set up?" well, the president's pushing of all this has been widely condemned. the former republican senator jeff flake tweeted in response: "trafficking in conspiracy theories like these is beneath your office, mr president." and this is new york governor andrew cuomo. what do you think it was, it was staged? you think the blood coming out of his head was staged?! 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 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 anger, what does he do? pours 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. tens of thousands across the uk have joined a wave of anti—racism protests triggered by george floyd's death. many hope the demonstrations will be a catalyst for change. a statue of the slave trader edward colston was toppled in bristol on sunday, and attention is turning to other public statues. there've long been demands for oriel college, oxford, to remove an image of the imperialist cecil rhodes and those protests have new energy now. from oxford, reeta chakra barti reports. oxford, the latest flashpoint in a national clamour for change. this battle, though, has been going on for years.

cecil rhodes, a i9th—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 gain. he doesn't stand for my values and i don't want to see him celebrated. so i am here with my little sister, we are from botswana, our mum's from botswana, and actually her father was made stateless by an apartheid government that was, in part, started and definitely helped to perpetuate by cecil rhodes. i'm from germany myself, i'm black, half white, and 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 across 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'm absolutely adamant that you start removing the statues or street names to do with slavery, in 50 years' time, you will forget the history of that slavery. and 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 the slavist sir francis drake. in denbigh in wales, there is pressure to take down henry stanley. and in london, the monument of the slaver robert milligan was removed with a review of all the capital's statues and street names announced by the mayor.

they say that they want to erase a racist monument from the streets of oxford, but, even if others agree — and it's a big if — how does any of this help solve the deep inequalities that exist in the uk between black and white? well, it is huge symbolism. and i hope it is a catalyst, a catalyst for a conversation, a catalyst for policy change, that 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 ina and in a statement, oriel couege and in a statement, oriel college did not say whether or not it would take the statue down. you did say: —— it did say "as an academic institution, we aim to fight prejudice and champion equal opportunities for everyone regardless of race, gender, sexuality or faith. we believe black lives matter and support the right to peaceful protest. the power of education is a catalyst for equality and inclusiveness." stay with us on bbc news. still to come: nakitta foxx, who performed at george floyd's funeral service, tells us what the experiece means to her. 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 foran 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 world 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.

brazil has restored detailed covid—i9 data to the official national website — the government was criticised for removing it earlier this week. a supreme courtjustice has ruled that the information — containing the number of cases and breakdowns by state — must be made public again. the move caused outrage across the political spectrum, many politicians accusing presidentjair bolsonaro of whitewashing brazil's rising death numbers for political gain. the indigenous community of ticuna, in the colombian amazon, fears its proximity to brazil could open a corridor of infection for its own population. the amazon rainforest, covers much of north west brazil and extends into colombia, peru and other south american countries. the ticuna are afraid infections in brazil could be deadly for their elderly leaders. a threat beyond comprehension — the indigenous community of ticuna are worried about loss of life and loss of knowledge.

coronavirus is posing a great danger to the amazon regions, ageing leaders and spiritual guides. translation: if our spiritual and cultural leaders die, obviously we would be left with young people who, in the future, would know nothing of our cultures, practices and customs, so that is what we are afraid of. to protect their community from the pandemic, movement is controlled and people are checked by traditional indigenous doctors. the region is in close proximity to brazil, the epicentre of the outbreak in latin america. infections across the border could be deadly for the ethnic group but the outbreak is not stopping ticuna members from keeping the community spirit alive.

they are still performing their traditional dance, even if they have to wear face masks. for decades, people along the amazon river have been walking, driving and rafting from one shore to another but, with covid—i9 claiming nearly moo lives in columbia, they are standing guard to protect their people and, most importantly, their elders, who are seen as tools of knowledge about the rainforest and the community history. sodaba haidare, bbc news. the us secretary of state has criticised the british bank, hsbc, which is very asia—focused, of giving into china by backing beijing's new security law for hong kong. accusing china of browbeating hsbc, mike pompeo said the bank's experience was a "cautionary tale" that showed why countries should avoid economic over—reliance on china.

the president of burundi, pierre nkurunziza, has died in hospital. he was 55. a government statement said he'd suffered a heart attack on monday following a brief illness. he'd been burundi's leaderfor 15 years and was accused of widespread human rights abuses. as we've seen the service for george floyd in houston hosted a huge array of empassioned eulogies, tributes and messages of solidarity. music also played a central role during the order of service, with mouners joining in song during the emotional occasion. here's just one example... nakitta foxx sings: # pray forjustice, pray forjustice. here was the one to pray for, he will still pray for your kindness, kindness, kindness, your kindness, your love. here lies the answer, no matter the colour, no matter the education,

when we are up, when we are down, love! for better or worse, for richer or poorer, till death do us part, he love us, love supreme, he loves us...# that was nakitta foxx, director of praise and worship at houston's fountain of praise church. i asked her what she most wanted to get across, at the service. the tone that i was trying to send today, first of all to the family, just to comfort them and to let them know that they are loved, not only by the people but by our god, and just to give them some sense of hope, even with what is going on right now. we are all out and we are fighting for this cause, but i know that they are pained because they lost a loved one,

and so we just want them to be encouraged and to know that god is still worthy of the praise and the he still loves them. it's a really obvious point but you really made the music ring out today, and music plays a particular part in this kind of occasion. it is a comfort, of course, it also a rallying cry? yes, it is, yes, it is. i've heard, at one point in the service, the sam cooke song, change is going to come, you will know when he wrote that, the circumstances when he wrote that, and how long it has been since he wrote it. chance still‘s not really come. we're still fighting for it. it has not really come yet. i mean, we have come a long ways but we still have a long ways to go so, yeah, i am honoured and i am blessed now to see that we are actually taking some steps forward to make that change happen. given if the global response,

do you have more hope that this is a real moment of change? yes, i do, i do have a real hope because i have seen so many people from so many different places come together in this particular instance, and it is amazing to me, even with the viewing yesterday, there were so many people, from everywhere, they came to pay tribute and then people are protesting all over the world for the cause and for change to come. i know you are from houston, tell us more about george's background. do you know where he came from? i did not know him personally but just by listening to his family speak, i know that he grew up in the third ward community of houston, one of our inner cities, and that is about, you know, not one of the more

ritzier neighbourhoods, but more of a close—knit family type neighbourhood, not a lot of people with a whole lot of money but that is the most that i know about his upbringing and about him, you know, growing up in houston. a tough neighbourhood to make it through. yes. were there particualr standout moments for you today? there are actually two. the first one was when my mayor, mayor sylvester turner, spoke to us. i was proud to be a houstonian, just to hear him talk about the laws that he's trying to get passed even in our city, with the police brutality, and just to make sure that shooting is the last method of apprehending anyone, so that we do not have to continue to see so many people being

killed, you know, for... for it being an injustice. so that was one of the standout moments for me. just being proud to be a houstonian, because my mayor is doing what needs to be done to see the change that we need to see come. and another part that stood out to me was just at the end of the service, when they were carrying him out in his gold casket, and him being from where he came from and the song, i shall wear a crown, was being played and just knowing that his purpose was fulfilled through his life. so those were just two of the standout moments for me today. much more for you on the bbc website. you can reach me on

most of the team on twitter. hello there. we'll take a look at the uk unsettled weather picture injust 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 degree 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 north—west 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. so we are looking at an unsettled day. often it's going to be cloudy, often we're looking at spells of rain, that could be quite lengthy spells of rain and, at times, pretty heavy as well. perhaps some of the heaviest bursts of rain working across the western

side of the countries, so wales, maybe north—west england. there will be some areas that don't see too much in the way of rain. but i think they are going to be the lucky few. for most of us, it stays pretty wet. temperatures between 14 and around 18 degrees for most of us. now, once that area of rain has moved south, you might think, "phew, we got rid of it," but, no, this particular area of low pressure is going to deepen and spin back northwards. all said and done, we'll be seeing the low influence our weather for the next six days, so we better get used to it, i suppose. on thursday, we have further outbreaks of rain, moving in across parts of england and wales. some of the heaviest falls of rain could be working in across parts of north—east england. it looks like it could turn very wet here for a time. and increasingly, ithink, as we go on through the next few days, when the rain does come along, it's got a tendency to become quite heavy. thursday is going to be a windier day, and it's going to start to feel a little bit more humid as well. now, for friday, we've got further bands of rain pushing their way northwards. probably the heaviest coming into southern parts of england and southern wales.

a real chance of some thundery downpours here, might even see some localised surface water flooding for a time. generally, the less rainy weather will be across the north—west of the country, but nowhere is immune from seeing an odd downpour. and that trend continues on into the weekend as well. for saturday, it's a day of sunshine and heavy thundery showers. those showers could be quite intense. perhaps some of the heaviest of them towards wales and parts of south—west england. it's a humid day, temperatures are rising. we're looking at highs up to 24. but it is going to stay unsettled.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: in houston, texas, a funeral service has been held for george floyd, whose killing by police in minneapolis triggered anti—racism protests around the world. the eulogy from the civil rights leader al sharpton included an impassioned plea for police reform and racial justice. president trump chose the same day to promote a conspiracy theory that suggests a man pushed over by police during protests in buffalo last week was an extremist provocateur. the victim struck his head and is still critically ill. his lawyer says the family are at a loss as to why mr trump made a dark, dangerous and untrue accusation. there have been more demonstrations triggered by george floyd's death across the uk. many protesters are turning their attention to public statues depicting slave owners. at oxford university, there have been renewed protests in a long—running campaign for oriel college to remove an image of cecil rhodes.