welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: america's top general apologises for appearing alongside president trump at the height of the anti—racism protests. as many of you saw, the results of the photograph of me at lafayette square last week sparked a national debate about the role of the military in civil society. i should not have been there. us stock markets suffer their deepest one—day falls since equity markets crashed in march. is it a brexit u—turn? the uk abandons plans to introduce full border checks with the european union in january. spanish football is back behind closed doors but with the sound of cheering crowds providing the atmosphere.

hello. we start in the united states, where america's top military officer, general mark milley, says he made a mistake by accompanying president trump to a staged event outside a church near the white house during recent anti—racism protests. general milley said being photographed in combat uniform as part of mr trump's entourage raised perceptions of military involvement in domestic politics. aleem maqbool has more. it was arguably the most controversial moment of the demonstrations. the white house told security forces to clear peaceful protesters from an area, which they did, violently, so the president could walk out

with an entourage that included america's top military official, general mark milley, seen here on the right in uniform, to go and pose briefly outside a church, to show he was in control, something general milley now says he regrets. i should not have been there. my presence in that moment, and in that environment, created a perception of the military involvement in domestic politics. as a commissioned, uniformed officer, it was a mistake that i learned from. and the president is setting himself on another collision course with military leaders. he says it's out of the question the us renames bases that currently commemorate confederate generals, but there are growing calls from present and former military leadership to do just that. and it's time we name us army bases after a us army leaders or soldiers who didn't take up arms against the united states to support slavery.

this is the right time and this is the right moment to get this done. across the country, activists are taking matters into their own hands, bringing down statues that glorify white supremacy and of violent colonisers. they deny it's vandalism. our entire lives have been vandalised by the state since these laws were created. probably one of the most exciting times of my life was running next to people dragging christopher columbus on the ground to the lake. well, it feels like a completely different landscape to a couple of weeks ago. we've got generals criticising the way the military‘s name was besmirched during the protest, the discussion about the renaming of military bases, and the bringing down of confederate statues. the president may not be on board with these things, but they're happening at pace in any case. aleem maqbool, bbc news, washington. speaking at an event in texas, president trump has promised to spend more on police training in his first policy proposals

since nationwide protests erupted in response to the death of george floyd. but he dismissed calls to defund the police, saying some people were trying to push an extreme agenda. we're working to finalise an executive order that will encourage police departments nationwide to meet the most current professional standards for the use of force, including tactics for deescalation. also, we'll encourage pilot programmes that allow social workers to join certain law—enforcement officers so they work together. we'll take care of our police without defunding police — if anything, we're going the other route. we'll make sure our police are well trained, perfectly trained — have the best equipment. staying in the us, moving to a different story, stock markets have

fallen sharply about the coronavirus situation in america. the situation in america. dowjones closed down almost the dowjones closed down almost 7% on thursday. it seems investors are much less optimistic about an early recovery for the american economy. the market sell—off was triggered, in part, by new data showing that cases of covid—19 were rising again after five weeks of decline. that report was compiled by the covid tracking project, a volu nteer—run effort sponsored by the atlantic magazine. the head of that project is alexis madrigal, and i asked him what lies behind the rise in cases. well, it's really in the united states, the national story has changed. you know, the initial outbreak really dominated the north—east — new york, newjersey — and now the real locuses of the outbreak is in the south and the west. so you have a case in which the north—east successfully suppressed the outbreak but now it is spreading a new in other places and in places that don't have the strict lockdown

measures that new york and newjersey went into, and people fear we're going to have uncontrolled spread across many large american cities. let's pick up on that, those southern areas appear to be worse affected. is that because of more lax lockdowns or is it climate, heat, any other factors? it's really a couple of things. in late april, early may, a lot of southern and western states — arizona, north carolina, south carolina, florida — started to pull out of the moderate lockdowns they had gone into, so what we're seeing is the effects of those changes in social behaviour. there was a lag from when the government said, "ok, you can go and start doing things," to when people actually did, so it has lengthened out the time from when the lockdowns ended and when we started to see the rises in cases as well as in the positive rate of tests that are coming back.

i was talking about the impact on the stock market, huge falls, are you surprised by the impact this data is having? it's difficult for the stock market to metabolise these kinds of medium—term risks. you know, the stock—market is good at looking out, like, a long way, it's pretty good at looking at day—to—day data, but the problem with the pandemic is it's a little bit random, it's not going away and there's always this ever—present fear we might have to go back to lockdowns in the major american industrial centres. and so i think that's a big part of it and people wanted heat and the summer to make the virus go away, and if you look at where the outbreak is growing in the us, it is growing in the hot parts of the country. that has taken out this folk theory that a lot of people on wall street really

wanted to believe. our thanks to alexis madrigal there. let's get some of the day's other news. africa is the continent least affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but there are concerns that its status could quickly change. the world health organization issued a stark warning on thursday that the pandemic is accelerating across the continent. earlier this week, the number of confirmed cases on the continent passed 200,000 and the death toll is approaching 6,000. activists in rio de janeiro's copacabana beach have dug 100 graves in the sand as a protest against the government's pandemic response. brazil has the second highest number of coronavirus cases in the world. it's also expected to overtake the uk to become the country with the second highest number of global deaths. protestors in lebanon, reacting to a record plunge in the value of their currency, have blocked roads, set tyres alight and thrown petrol—bombs to vent their anger. the lebanese pound has lost 70% of its value since october, throwing the country into its worst economic crisis in decades. many lebanese citizens who rely

on savings have fallen into poverty, their plight worsened by the pandemic. the mayor of the city of norilsk in russia has been charged with criminal negligence over his response to an oil spill that dumped tens of thousands of tons of diesel fuel into local waterways. environmentalists say the spill from a power station two weeks ago is the worst to hit the arctic and could take years to clean up. let's get an update on brexit now. the british government is expected to apply much less rigorous checks to goods coming into the uk than it was initially planning to when the transition period finishes at the end of this year. the bbc‘s been told it's necessary due to the impact of coronavirus. it means agricultural goods and animal products will now no longer have to be checked. industrial goods declarations will be waived as will safety and security checks.

the measures will last six months and are not expected to be reciprocated by the eu. 0ur political correspondent, chris mason, has this from westminster. we formally left the european union at the end ofjanuary. we are in this transition period where technically, yes, we are outside of the eu, but in pretty much all practical terms we are still in and we are in a transition period that runs until the end of this year. now, the government is likely to confirm formerly very soon that that transition period will not be extended, that's what they've been saying repeatedly for the last few months. but a report in the financial times tonight saying that they will change their approach to imports coming into the country immediately after the end of the transition period at the start of next year. they will have a more flexible, pragmatic approach. and a source confirming that tonight saying to the bbc that is essential given the impact of the coronavirus as businesses adjust to the reality after the virus but also to being outside of the single market

and the customs union — two of those big economic structures of the european union. you might have thought you'd heard the last brexit — you haven't. chris mason there. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: spanish football returns, with la liga's top teams playing to empty stadiums. 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 see me, i'll get out there and kick ‘em down the hills. 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. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the latest headlines: america's top military officer apologises for accompanying president trump to a photo—op at a church during black lives matter protests. let's stay with that story. willam arkin is a military analyst and columnist for newsweek. he gave us his reaction to general milley‘s apology. well, i thought that it was probably less

than meets the eye. we have now seen a dozen or so senior military officers, all retired, speaking out very strongly against donald trump and against, in a way, the military leadership of the united states — that is general milley and secretary esper. they have admonished them for being too accommodating with the president and for participating in the president's political use of the military, so general milley today coming out and saying that he was sorry, that he did not have what he called "situational awareness". it is welcome but, in a way, it is a little bit too late, and also secretary esper and general milley have sort of demonstrated that they do not really have what it takes to stand up to donald trump and, i am afraid, as we move forward, we are either gonig to see both of them gone or we are going to see a very

weak military leadership at a time when we probably need to have a much stronger one. that is really interesting because, on the surface, it looks like totally the opposite, it looks like senior military figures are coming out against their president, but your argument is actually that it is not what it seems? well, so we again have a lot of military leaders, retired military leaders, saying the proper things. the us military should stay out of partisan politics, the american military should not be deployed on domestic soil, for partisan critical purposes. those are great things to say, however many of those same men have been involved in partisan politics. james mattis was the secretary of defence under donald trump. retired marine corp general john kelly was the white house chief of staff — retired marine corp general. so they have sort of violated their own edit, if you will, and i'm afraid, as we move forward, i certainly applaud the idea that the us military should stay out

of domestic politics and i certainly think that someone should stand up to donald trump in terms of his aggressive use of the military, both in response to coronavirus as a kind of photo op, and then now in response to civil unrest in american society but, if i am going to take the general seriously and really listen to what they are saying, what they are saying is, don't listen to us, and in an ironic way, they are saying we do not really have a voice in domestic society, we should not really play a strong role in civil society, that our real mission is overseas. and so in some ways, what they are saying is don't listen to us. i am afraid that, however, the political pretentions of those very generals and just hteir nature in washington dc is to be involved in politics and that is not going to go away. willam m arkin.

in yemen, where the coronavirus outbreak has added yet another burden to the world's worst humanitarian crisis. officially the countryhas fewer than 600 infections, but the who says the real number is likely much higher. and, what makes it worse is that much of the country's health system had already been destroyed by years of fighting. here's our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. in a nation scarred by war, a new landscape of loss. the dead taking more space from the living, as a graveyard grows in southern yemen. no—one knows how many are dying of covid—i9, but with every day, more yemenis know this — this pain of life and death in the time of the virus. and doctors see the worst. doctor zoha alsadi works in an intensive care unit in the southern city of aden. she has just finished

her night shift. the whole situation in aden is very bad. there are people dying in hospital. there are people dying in an ambulance, while they are waiting for empty beds. there are people dying at home. we can't do anything for them. they just suffer and die. there is little dignity in this death, and great disquiet. here in northern yemen, the houthi authorities try to hide how many die from the virus. so some bury the dead in the dead of night. men dressed in white, fearing for their own lives. but someone at this graveside sent us these images, so his friend yusri isn't forgotten. a young dentist, said to be killed by covid—i9. his father died two days before him. his wife fell ill. we need help. the people in yemen need help. we have heard so many stories.

a doctor in northern yemen tells me he has stopped going to work at the health ministry. it's too dangerous, he says. the houthi authorities say that the situation is under control now. is that true? no, no, no. the situation is not under control. this deadly virus is moving undetected across a country twisted in two by a long war and all the old pestilence, including cholera. yemen's health system has all but collapsed. testing for covid—i9, among the lowest in the world. across this country, doctors tell us, their beds are full. they don't know where to put the sick and dying. and there is so little specialist care. doctors like khairil musa

are doing whatever they can. or we can't do more for the patient here. and i guess, you know, we try our hardest with what we have and, you know, for each day, the sun still rises, so we do what we can, you know, but it is hard. it's really hard. the disease itself is ravaging through lives. yemenis have so few defences, and last week, a un appeal for life—saving funds fell far short. in a world of covid—i9, it is feared yemen could suffer the greatest catastrophe of all. lyse doucet, bbc news. another of europe's biggest football leagues, spain's la liga, has restarted. in the first match, seville beat real betis 2—0. the game was played behind closed doors, but hundreds of supporters turned up outside the stadium. tim allman reports.

the fans were told to stay away but some of them just could not resist. this, the first football match in spain for three months and what awaited it has escorted by police, the tea m it has escorted by police, the team coaches arrived one after the other, just footballers but returning heroes. before kick—off, a minutes silence was held for the more than 27,000 people who have lost their lives in this country due to covid—i9. football may be back but the crowds are not, artificial noise was pumped out to try and create more of an atmosphere. creating their own, these fans watching at a nearby bar. face mask is obligatory as that team colours. translation: when the league was suspended we we re when the league was suspended we were wondering how they

would even think about playing the match. these are extraordinary circumstances but the truth is i have had more important things to think about than a football. translation: you realise that, in the end, football is not the most important thing in the world, especially when people ‘s health is at stake. that may be true but football has big called the most important of the least important things. seville won the match 2—0 and perhaps life in spain seemed just that little bit more normal. tim allman, bbc news. the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have notjust been global, they've also been galactic. since the lockdown began, astronomical observatories in the north of chile have been forced to stop operations, and have been put into safe mode. the bbc‘s gail maclellan has more. high up in the andes, in the

chilean desert, almost half of the worlds astronomical observations have the only visitors, the condors sweeping in the clear cold air. because of the pandemic, all of the observatories have been put into safe mode, with only a few personnel remaining to maintain and it repaired. on this plateau, 66 antennas of the most advanced radiotelescope continually scan the skies, usually. now they stand in shutdown mode. the scientists are using the time in focusing processing of the data. translation: we astronomers work with a lot of data. we have observations that we are performing. under normal conditions we would be carrying out those finishing

investigations and preparing for the future. but what will a sleeping telescope mess? the objects in the universe remain where they are scientists say some phenomena occur unexpectedly and are transitory. if supernova goes off while is shutdown, you cannot observe that. they fade very quickly. there are opportunities like that which armies. while human eyes are temporarily close to the wonders of the universe, scientists have time to think and to search their data for the answers they are always asked, where did this always start and is it that anybody out there? gail maclellan, bbc news. scientists in israel say they've managed to produce hydrogen from plants, in what's hoped could be a breakthrough in using vegetation to produce electricity. rich preston explains. the discovery was made using microscopic algae. plants naturally absorb energy from the sun

and photosynthesise it for their own needs, but when these researchers in tel aviv planted an enzyme into the algae, they were able to harvest the energy the plants were producing in the form of hydrogen. translation: the purpose of our research is to find a point inside the solar biological nano panels, existing in every leaf and algae, and redirect the electrical flow. the researchers say the electrical output from the algae means plants could be the power source of the future. translation: for 20,000 years, agriculture was our source for food. now we can expand its purposes and agriculture could serve some of our daily energy, chemical, heavy industry and non—food needs. hydrogen is already used to fuel some cars and drones. britain even has a hydrogen train. whereas a burning fossil fuels produces dirty, smelly carbon dioxide,

the biproduct of hydrogen power is of this colourless, odourless water. producing hydrogen is normally an energy intensive industrial process, this research gives hope of making the process much more natural but the scientist warn that, whilst theirfindings do signify a significant development, it could be another 20 years before the world benefits from plant power. rich preston, bbc news. as many of us well know, the pandemic‘s disrupted schools across the world and notjust the traditional ones, it also includes circus schools. but one montreal circus student who was about to graduate wasn't going to let that stop him training. he's installed a wire in the courtyard of his apartment to keep up his practice. the fix allows him to stay in shape despite his school's closure in early march.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. you are watching bbc news. hello. a lot going on with our weather the next few days, and it's all being driven by an area of low pressure — this beautiful swirl of cloud here on the satellite picture. and rather than moving through quickly, this area of low pressure is just going to sit around, it's going to spin areas of rain up in our direction. brisk winds for a time, as well. and with the flow of air around this area of low pressure, we're going to tap into something rather warm and potentially quite humid. so, to sum up the next few days, there will be some heavy, thundery downpours, with some sunny spells in between, and that warm and humid feel across most parts of the uk. now over recent hours, we've had a lot of rain across northeast england.

that rain continues here, pushing into northwest england, northern ireland, eventually up into southern and eastern scotland. and across the south of england, another pulse of very heavy rain working in through the afternoon. some flashes of lightning, some rumbles of thunder are likely. this rain starting to get up into the southeast of wales, and the south midlands. the odd heavy shower following on behind. the temperatures a little bit higher than they have been, 2i celsius there in london. sunshine and showers to the north midlands into wales. a lot of cloud with some outbreaks in rain for northern england, and northern ireland. some of that rain eventually pushing up towards the southeast of scotland. but towards the northwest of scotland, well, here probably the best of the dry and sunny weather, although for some coasts in the northeast, it's likely to stay more murky. and it's going to be quite a breezy day, as well. now as we move through friday night and into saturday, you can see further pulses of wet weather pushing across the map. some clear spells, as well. it's going to be a very mild night. we've got quite a few mild nights to come, actually. temperatures as we start saturday in double digits for most. now potentially another area of rain to push across northern england into northern ireland, parts of southern scotland. to the south of that, sunshine and really heavy showers breaking out —

they will be quite well scattered. not everyone will get a shower but, if you do, it could bring some thunder, some lightning, some large hail and certainly a lot of rain in a short space of time. but look at the temperatures, 25 degrees in norwich, 20 there in glasgow. a bit cooler for some of these northern and eastern coasts where we keep a lot of cloud, some mist and fog. it could be quite grey and murky again for northeastern coasts on sunday. for most, it's another day of sunny spells and torrential, thundery downpours. and once again, it will feel warm — temperatures of 17 degrees in aberdeen, 2a celsius in london.

this is bbc 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, said the event created a perception of the military being involved in domestic politics. us stock markets have fallen sharply as investors became less optimistic about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the american economy. the dow jones index closed down by almost 7%. losses in other indices were almost as great. stocks suffered their worst day since march. another of europe's biggest football leagues, spain's la liga, has restarted three months after being suspended because of coronavirus. matches are being played behind

closed doors but tv viewers can watch it with computer—generated spectators. now on bbc news, panorama. tonight on panorama — shocking new evidence about a national scandal. i've never heard of anything like it at all. it's a quite extraordinary story. we reveal how the post office ruined hundreds of lives. they've been lying, not just to the postmaster, to everybody. they've been lying from day one. the post office knew its computer system could make money go missing, but they accused staff of stealing anyway... it's chilling. i mean, my blood ran cold. ..and postmasters were jailed because bosses kept the truth from coming out. you can't create this kind of injustice on people,