hello, i'm babita sharma, welcome to outside source. we're covering all the latest developments and analysis here in britain and globally. america's top military officer says he was wrong to accompany president trump for a photo—op at a church during the black lives matter protests. as many of you saw, the results of the photograph of me at lafayette square last week it sparked a national debate about the role of the military and civil society. i should not have been there. as the anti—racism debate in the us turns to confederate monuments connected to slavery — we speak to a relative of general robert e lee on whether his statue

should come down. we'll also have a comprehensive global update on the pandemic. in england, the government says its track and trace system is working well — but new figures show thousands of people couldn't be contacted. and as the coronavirus outbreak accelerates in africa — so too does misinformation. we're live in lagos. welcome. america's top military official has said he was wrong to join president trump for a photo opportunity outside a church in washington. a peaceful protest over the death of george floyd, a black man who died in police custody, had been forcibly broken up to make it happen. this is the walk they took to the church, general mark milley, the chair of thejoint chiefs of staff is on the right side of the screen dressed in camouflage fatigues — he said he ‘should not have been there'. this is what he said in a video

address to a military graduation ceremony. as many of you saw the result of the photograph of me at lafayette square last week. that sparked a national debate about the role of the military in civil society. i should not have been there. my presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of military involvement of domestic politics. this is not the first time general milley has distanced himself, and the us military, from the politics of donald trump. in the early days of the protests against the killing of george floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes, donald trump tweeted. that last phrase was coined in the us in the 1960s, to justify aggressive policing in black neighbourhoods, and was later used by politicians

in favour of segregation during the time of civil rights protests. twitter marked it as a violation of twitter rules for glorifying violence. president trump then accused twitter of silencing conservative voices and threatened them with regulation. days later general milley, wrote a letter to the us joint forces command saying. the us military swears an oath to the constitution, this document is founded on the principle that all men and women are born free and equal, and should be treated with respect and dignity. in his own handwriting he added ‘we all committed our lives to the idea that is america — we will stay true to that oath and the american people'. katty kay is in washington. extraordinary, is it not for a top general to distance themselves from the president in this manner today?

yes. look, you have to remember the president is also the commander—in—chief. doing that he is effectively criticising the commander—in—chief as well. it's why american generals, by and large are very reluctant whether they are sitting or retired, very reluctant to criticise the president. because there are criticising the head of there are criticising the head of the military. now he isjust one there are criticising the head of the military. now he is just one of severalformer the military. now he is just one of several formerjoint chiefs of staff and secretaries of defence that of, and secretaries of defence that of, and saying that president trump has gone too far recalled for the military to come out onto the streets against american protesters. it's worth remembering that when his photograph was taken, when we saw him on that video walking through the square american forces had just fired tear gas and rubber bullets at peaceful protesters in order to clear the square so that the president could go and have that photo opportunity outside the church. it caused a huge amount of consternation here. in speaking to a

top retired american military official who said the apology is good and true, we don't have the kind of apology that so clear so often, somebody saying i was wrong, but this former military official was saying it is too late. this was a week ago last monday when we are now ten days later. why is it taken him so long to come out and say what idid was him so long to come out and say what i did was wrong. thank you very much for that. the black lives matter protests in the united states — and around the world — have led to demands that authorities remove monuments connected to slavery and colonialism. this is a statue of christopher columbus being torn down by protesters in minnesota. he's popularly known as one of the 15th century's great explorers, credited with europe's ‘discovery‘ of the americas. but he's accused of being responsible for native american genocide and colonisation. but on twitter, the republican senator ted cruz described the protesters as

the american taliban. another, more recent historical legacy being examined is that of the american civil war. multiple us military bases are named after confederate commanders, who fought to preserve slavery. there are ten of them — they're spread across six southern states, some of which were once part of the confederacy that fought against the union in the north. earlier this week the army suggested they might be open to changing the bases' names — sparking an angry response from the president, who has refused to rename any of them. statues of those leaders have also been targetted by anti—racism protesters. the opposition democrat party has thrown its weight behind a campaign to remove some from the us capitol, where congress sits. nancy pelosi, the country's top elected democrat, wrote this letter to a congressional committee in charge of managing the statues — saying they must be removed. and this is what one

of her colleagues said. the individuals who have been honoured by those statues, in effect, fought to keep people enslaved. i don't think that's something we ought to honour in america. outside of washington, the same issues are playing out. this is the statue of the former president of the confederacy, jefferson davis, after it was defaced and knocked down in richmond, virginia. it was taken away by police. this is a statue, of confederate general robert e lee being cleaned after it was spray—painted by protesters. swear words had to be blurred out for broadcast. the governor of virginia has said there are now plans to take down this statue down as soon as possible. journalist james gannon is a descendent of general robert lee. two years ago he made a documentary about his controversial family legacy and the divisions on confederate monuments in america. he joins me now from lovettsville, in virginia.

welcome to the programme. thank you very much forjoining us. as we were just saying your country is currently gripped by this debate over confederate monuments. like that of your ancestors which stands in monument avenue in richmond. how do you feel about this? what is your sta nce do you feel about this? what is your stance on it now? welcome of the important thing to remember about these statues and those that say they have to do with history is that that history was never really straightforward to begin with. these statues, whether they were put up in the years following the civil war, oi’ the years following the civil war, or decades or even a century later like many of them were, if you look at the speeches given at their unveiling and commentary at the time, it's clear that although there may have been some it is sent intend to honour history, there was a very specific intention to use these as symbols of oppression and symbols to empower white supremacy across the south. so as i look at them now

really they are symbols that just have to go. in this current moment we cannot accept that statues two people who fought to uphold the enslavement of human beings can still stand today. is incredibly personalfor still stand today. is incredibly personal for you as well, i know you have spoken about this for many yea rs. have spoken about this for many years. does the legacy or your a ncestor years. does the legacy or your ancestor being related to robert e lee playing you and your family still today? sure. it's interesting, because as white people in america come to terms with the racism of our history, and that still afflicts us today in very big ways as we are seeing with the current focus on police brutality, but also expanding to look at income inequality and health care outcomes as african americans are dying in disproportionate numbers due to

covid—i9, it's natural to feel a sort of guilt, white guilds, or even shame when confronting that. but it's not necessary. and it is something that can be moved past and it's important to start these conversations, not stand on the sidelines, and engage where they can be and often awkward or clumsy but courageous and necessary conversation about the inequalities and divisions of race in america. they may be viewers watching this that heard you say the term white guilt which, for many, strikes a chord in knowing what that might mean in the context we have just said it, but for others not quite understanding where you are coming from. can you explain a bit more?! sure. white guilt is a term for the feeling that some white people might feeling that some white people might feel for the state of african—americans, or other people

of colour, minorities that face discrimination and oppression. in oui’ discrimination and oppression. in our country and really anywhere. and thatis our country and really anywhere. and that is very closely related to another phrase, white privilege, which is the honour and privileges and advantages that white people enjoy whether they asked for them or not, and see in their lives. i'm not saying that anybody public life isn't hard. everybody‘s life has difficulties, but for most white people the difficulties that they face were not because of the colour of their skin. and so that is where the privilege comes from because many people in america, african americans, people of colour, other minorities do face those types of discrimination and oppression. briefly, we're just running discrimination and oppression. briefly, we'rejust running out of time, do you believe the taking debt of these monuments that are connected to slavery and racism are a nyway connected to slavery and racism are anyway going to help reshape the narrative about race and racism in

america? is an important starting point. but it is just that. taking down the statues is incredibly important because of the symbolism of white supremacy that they represent. but we have to go further than that and that starts with the conversations across racial lines, but also amongst white people and themselves. because the power structure in america favours white folks. and so they're the ones that need to step up and affect change here. thank you so much forjoining us. here. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you. moving away from the us. and here in the uk — the government says its new track and trace system is working well in england — however new figures show tracers failed to get in touch with a third of them. the system aims to ensure that when people test positive for the virus, anyone they've spent time with will be notified and asked to self isolate. here's our health editor, hugh pym. if you test positive, nhs test and trace will contact you to trace people you might have infected.

testing and tracing is vital to prevent future coronavirus outbreaks developing. a new system for england was launched two weeks ago. now we have some details of how it's working. in the first week, two thirds of those testing positive handed over details of people they had recently been in contact with. save lives. are you a bit concerned that with one third of people who tested positive, for whatever reason, you couldn't get details of recent contacts? i think that the system has worked well, and to get two thirds in the first week of operation, it beat my expectations and then to have the vast majority, 85% of the contacts that were given, self—isolating, that beat my expectations too, and this system gets better and better. here is how contact tracing should work. if i test positive for the virus, i'd be contacted by officials by phone or e—mail and asked who i had met up

with in recent days. and that means meetings at less than two metres face to face, not someone i might have bumped into in a shop. that might include, for example, friends i'd spent time with, and work colleagues i might have been in meetings with, or a wider circle of recent contacts. all that would then be assessed by a clinical team and those people might be contacted and told to self—isolate for 14 days. testing is carried out at drive—through centres at locations visited by mobile teams and in hospitals and care homes. home test kits are sent out, then information on those testing positive is sent to health officials who find out more about the contacts. one of them isjosie. she is working from home in redcar. everybody that i've spoke to has been more than happy to share the information that we need. and at the moment i've only had people that have had a couple of contacts or,

you know, a handful. but i guess once lockdown measures ease, then maybe we will see more contacts. then the tracers have to follow up the contacts. some, who wish to remain anonymous, complained that they have had very little work to do. it's not right that you're paid to do nothing, i think the time could be better spent. there is mass confusion about the system and about what to do, what advice to give, and to say it is world beating is a bit of a joke. in a similar system in scotland, there is an average of one and a half contacts traced for each case. northern ireland were the first to be launched in the uk and wales also have testing and tracing programmes. the authorities in england say the system works but it's early days and there is more to do to reach a wider public. hugh pym, bbc news. stay with us on outside source, still to come: after two weeks of protests in the us, the issue of police

reform is being hotly debated. we'll look at the options. the queen has paid tribute to uk carers in herfirst video conference call. she appeared alongside princess anne to hear from four carers who shared their experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. this video was released by buckingham palace to mark the start of carers week.

this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. america's top military officer says he was wrong to accompany president trump for a photo—op at a church during the black lives matter protests. the death of george floyd — and the protests that have followed — have brought intense scrutiny of us policing. this week we've seen both republicans and democrats lay out their vision for reforms. but it's far from certain if an overhaul of us policing is possible. ros atkins has this report.

america is seeing its biggest protests in decades, and george floyd's brother has made clear the demand. honour george and make the necessary changes that make law enforcement the solution, and not the problem. hands up, don't shoot! but how have these protests across america translated into long—term change? what is stopping police reform in the us? this question post headlines cuts to it. —— this washington post. in the heart of this is the use of force by us policing. we sought in that horrific video of george floyd and we have seen it time and time, and we have seen it time and time, and time again since. there are two interlocking issues here. us

policing is violent. statistics show you were six times more likely to die in police custody in the us than in the uk, and twice as likely as in australia. we know that that violence is disproportionately directed at african—america ns. violence is disproportionately directed at african—americans. so what can be done? welcome you can try and stop certain types of policing. for example, chuckles are banned in new york, services co., la and now minneapolis two. but rules are and now minneapolis two. but rules a re often and now minneapolis two. but rules are often set locally. so a nationwide shift is harder to deliver. need accountability. al sharpton turns to this in his eulogy of george floyd. untilthe law is upheld and people know that they will go to jail, they're going to keep doing it. because they are protected by wickedness in high places. not everyone would describe it precisely that way but there is widespread agreement that better police accountability is needed. the problem is, police forces have long resisted increased oversight. which

brings us to police culture. some argue there's no issue here. for those that see it differently welcome at minneapolis is taking the nuclear option. our commitment is to end our citya toxic relationship with the minneapolis police department. two and policing as we know it. others wants to defund the police arguing that the root causes of crime are better addressed by shifting police money into social services. joe biden does not agree, he says if he becomes president he will increase police funding but with more strings attached. will increase police funding but with more strings attachedlj will increase police funding but with more strings attached. i don't support defining the police. i support defining the police. i support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honourable illness. maybe those strings will work, but powerful people within us policing don't see a problem with its culture. stop treating us like animals and thugs and start treating us animals and thugs and start treating us with some respect! for better or

worse the unions are certainly central. those calling for radical reform of the american policing system, and in and to police brutality against african—america ns would like to bypass the unions, or would like to bypass the unions, or would like to find a way to get the police unions not to have so much power in this country. next there's the militarization of the police. us police forces have billions of dollars with the military equipment. we have seen that in the last two weeks. america is an armed society, the majority of those killed by us police are armed. any demilitarization of the police really requires a huge shift in gun laws and there is no sign of that. and then there's the president. sometimes you will see some horrible things that we witness recently, but 99, i say 99.9, but let's go with 99% of them are great, great people. donald trump sees himself as a law

and order president. pursue police reform does not fit with that. there's one other thing. look at what has happened with attitudes toward the black lives matter movement. public opinion shifting sharply like this, also the political possibilities open up. when i saw that graph i thought of al sharpton telling george floyd's familyi al sharpton telling george floyd's family i will be here when the tv trucks of gone. his point being that america is paying attention to racial injustice right now, perhaps the biggest challenge for those demanding police reform is to keep it that way. early in the coronavirus pandemic, the who said that alongside coronavirus, authorities are fighting an "infodemic" of misinformation. around the world there have been claims that 5g technology was linked to coronavirus — and suggestions that drinking detergents could act as a cure for covid—i9. and africa has been far from immune to the ‘infodemic‘. for example, in mid—april, madagascar‘s president claimed that the locally produced covid—organics herbal tonic cures, and can prevent,

covid—i9 after a week. but clearly, this is not true — as there is currently no cure oi’ vaccine. now, to combat the spread of misinformation, bbc africa has launched an online fact checking hub, debunking popular myths and misinformation about coronavirus in africa. bbc africa's yemisi adegoke joins me now from lagos. — how does it work? thank you so much for being with us. why is this such a problem in africa, this meant information? research and experts have given lots of reasons why this misinformation is such a big problem on the continent. as low trust in the media, low trust in the government and a lack of independent agencies and a lack of independent agencies and data. and then you make this and with lower levels of digital literacy and you have a bit of a powder keg. misinformation has also

led to lots of consequences here particularly when it comes to health. during the 2014 to 2016 ebola crisis for example, in nigeria when where i am at the moment there was a widespread rumour that drinking saltwater was a preventative measure, and a lot of people got sick. during this coronavirus outbreak there's been a lot of misinformation and it's a really big problem here. and how is it working as the team tries to organise this and send that information out? because fact checking as well is unique to get that credibility and the reliability in the first place. it's been tough we have fantastic journalists in the first place. it's been tough we have fantasticjournalists on the ground and have a misinformation tea m ground and have a misinformation team of reality check and a monitoring team working on this stuff before we decided to create this project. been able to collaborate with them and learn from them about how to do this, but we do

think it's a very important project to make sure that people are well—informed and able to make the right choices about their health. thank you so much forjoining us and for talking us through all of that. plenty more details on what the bbc africa team are doing on the news website. an interesting day on the stocks and shares in the dowjones industrial average. down as you can see there. down 8.85%. a record level on rising rates with the increasing coronavirus cases in many states across the united states. also threatening a three—day streak on new records there. going to be having a closer look at this and seeing what it means for investors and also the wider economy as of course many are predicting. a recession is coming our way with the jobless figures reaching an all—time high. more on that to come, stay

with us you're an outside source. we will see you very soon. hello. a wet evening and night will follow what has been a wet afternoon across the north—east of england. much needed rain, but concerns it will cause some disruption. now, it is all being driven, really, by this area of low pressure in the bay of biscay. the tightly packed isobars have given us a windy day, but as we are pulling in air from the south, it will turn increasingly humid over the next few days with some thundery downpours. so, as i say, this evening, that rain is actually spreading its way westwards into northern ireland, parts of north wales and the midlands, but itjust keeps coming for the north—east of england, with that brisk winds, so hence the concerns that we could see local flash flooding. to the south, the showers is away. to the north, we are still in the drier air, but we have got sea fog, and sea fog will become more of an issue for many other areas

in the next couple of days, and it will be notably warm in the south, as well, and a bit misty and murky here, too, so, as we wake up, a little while before we see that sunshine coming through, and there will be some sunshine, but when this area of rain is moving northwards, rain across northern england stretching into northern ireland, it's all pushing northwards, as well, and this could well turn thundery. well, either band of rain could turn thundery, and even in between, there will be some showers around, and later in the day, if it does brighten, that will also allow some sharp downpours. feel that brisk wind coming in off the north—east, but despite that, it will still feel warm enough in the sunshine, but there will be plenty of showers scattered around, the sunshine will limited in northern parts of scotland, and there will still be some sea fog around the north sea coast, and i will be fog underneath this rain band, as well, so that is just the humidity at the moment. temperatures will probably be a degree or two up on those of today, because, as i say, it has all been drawn up around this area of low pressure from the south. now, is that moves northwards on saturday, we start to lose the wind in the south, but we still have that humidity.

so, what we will have its more torrential downpours, slow—moving downpours, and some lengthier sunny spells. so, saturday draws that rain northwards, still, across northern england and northern ireland, we think, very torrential downpours following on behind, with large hail, gusty winds, hail and thunder, but in between, the winds are lighter, it will feel warmer, as you can see, 20 to 25 celsius, increasing amounts of sea fog, though, in northern and eastern areas as we head through the weekend, and again, the risk of those showers just about anywhere. there are warnings out for the rain in the north—east there on the website.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: america's top general says accompanying the president to a church and appearing in a photo—op near the white house was a mistake. mark milley, the chairman of thejoint chiefs of staff,