this is bbc news, welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm aaron safir. our top stories: the prominentjournalist, maria ressa, has been convicted of libel in the philippines, we'll have the latest live from manila. railway carriages in india are being turned into makeshift hospital wards as coronavirus cases surge. the daily number of confirmed new cases has reached almost 12,000. france's president says his country has scored a first victory against coronavirus — as he announces a significant lifting of the remaining lockdown restrictions. and sushant singh rajput, one of the biggest stars in bollywood, has been found dead in his apartment in mumbai.

a court in the philippines has convicted the prominentjournalist, maria ressa, of libel. she and a former writer with her news website, rappler, were found guilty by the court in manila. both now face up to six years injail, though they've been released on bail pending appeal. the case has been seen as a test of freedom of the press in philippines — maria ressa, along with human rights campaigners, say she's been targeted because of her website‘s criticism of the country's president rodrigo duterte. 0ur correspondent in manila, howard johnson, spoke to maria ressa a short time ago. she said that today's verdict will affect the quality of democracy notjust here in the philippines

but around the world. this is a serious attack of the freedom of the media. according to her, this means that anyone posting online from this day onwards has the chance of becoming criminalised for their behaviour. this all dates back to 2012 when this article was written. that was eight years ago. but in 2014 it was changed by rappler, they said just allegedlyjust changing a typo but, because if that, it meant that the cyber libel law that was passed some four months after the original article was written, meant that came into play. and what we saw in 2017 and 2018 was this progressed to the courtroom here. we've been following it for the last eight months. wilfredo keng is the complainant. he said that the article besmirched his name, it defamed him in the eyes of the public, and he wanted to set the record straight through this court case. the judge today said that rappler did not provide the evidence to verify the claims against him, saying that he was involved in drug smuggling

and human trafficking allegations that he always denied. today, thejudge said you can't use the freedom of the press as a shield against these allegations made by wilfredo keng, and today we found that maria ressa and a writer from the website have been found guilty and, as you say, could face up to six years in jail. do we think they are actually going to go to jail? i mean, they are going to appeal, how long could all this take then? justice in the philippines is normally sluggish but this case was interesting because it moved very quickly. we've seen another prominent critic of president rodrigo duterte, senator leila de lima languishing in jail for years — for three years now — waiting for her day in court but this one was turned around relatively quickly. lots of people in this country say, we've got to look at the bigger picture here. there were 11 cases filed against rappler in the last few years — they were for tax evasion,

they were for allegations of foreign ownership violations and, of course, this one about cyber libel, so those critics of the president say that this was a result of a concerted effort by the president, who has called rappler a fake news outlet, he even complained to one of their reporters that he would send them to jail without bail, something we're not seeing here today — they are having the chance to go and ask for bail. but what we have seen here is the government also saying they are applying the letter of the law, that, if a person, a private businessman, had his name degraded by an article, then he has the right to go to court and to protest that. we'rejoined by ramona diaz, a filipino—american filmaker, and director of ‘a thousand cuts‘, a documentary following maria ressa, rappler and its conflicts with the government of president duterte.

i want to get your opinion about this. i thought it would happen, i thought she would be found guilty from everything that has been happening, the political realities in the philippines right now, from the shutting down of the biggest broadcasting company in the philippines in the middle of a pandemic, the passing of an anti— terrible that is, you know, the definition of terrorism is broad so descent can be considered terrorism. in light of that, in that context, i had light of that, in that context, ihada light of that, in that context, i had a feeling it might be a guilty verdict, but it is still a shock because she actually did not write that article. she didn't write that article and what they are saying is actually, they are applying the law retroactively because they changed the article, just a typo, but according to the law, it was republished in because it was republished in because

it was republished in because it was republished, it was within, after the law had already been implemented, but thatis already been implemented, but that is not true. you spent a long time working with her, you have come to know her body of work. what motivates her? why does she do what she does? you know, she is a journalist at heart and for her, journalism is the heart of a a democracy. without journalism, is the heart of a a democracy. withoutjournalism, democracy erodes that is what motivates her. it is a speaking truth to power. i know it is a cliche and has been used a lot but she truly believes in that. at the heart, that is what motivates her. good journalism. to look at power, ask questions, ask the right questions, because that, for her, is really the sole of a democracy, a free press. and pursuing that has brought some difficulty upon her over the years. i believe

you are with her on occasion when she was arrested? we were with her on both arrests, yes. a thousand cuts is really a very immersive film, spent with maria ressa, from the time she was arrested, twice, to the end of the mid—term elections last year and when she got to be time 100, she was chosen to be pa rt time 100, she was chosen to be part of the time 100 last year. when you started making the documentary, i understand it was focused on the war on drugs in the philippines but the more time you spend with maria ressa, that changed. what was it about her that inspired you to change the topic of that documentary? at first i was interested in the drug war, yes, but i live in the us and by the time i got to the philippines, i started by the time i got to the philippines, istarted really researching the film and met

maria. i realised that it was only maria who was connecting the drug war, disinformation and impunity. right? she was questioning the drug war. and she was questioning the numbers. how many people were dying. and for that, she got really pounded by that administration. but she connected that you disinformation online, because after she questioned the numbers, she was pounded and got like 98 messages and our online. the hashtag arrest maria ressa started trending but it didn't trend enough, so she was only arrested three yea rs she was only arrested three years later, but that was the aim. she was looking at behaviour online, the drug war and impunity and she was the only one really doing that and i thought it was a more global story, not that the drug war isn't relevant, but it gave it a broader view, put it in context globally, actually. you

mentioned some of the abuse that she has received on social media. how much do you feel has been encouraged, fomented by the government in the philippines, led by president duterte? a lot of it. they were so duterte? a lot of it. they were so many trolls after her —— there were so many trolls after her, that are encouraged by the government. 0k, one of the main people who is actually called the queen of fake news, works for the government, she has a website, the blog, that has really attacked maria ressa. this is somebody who works for the government. it is a direct correlation, or a direct relation with the government. maria ressa has said she is going to appeal. what is that process going to look like and how likely do you think it is that she will be successful?”

don't really know the appeal process so don't really know the appeal process so i am not sure i can a nswer process so i am not sure i can answer that but yes, she will appeal. i don't know how long it is going to take but, like your reporter howard johnson said, this has been fast tracked. usually cyber libel cases in the philippines last for years, like seven or eight yea rs, for years, like seven or eight years, this is less than a year and there is already a verdict. and they want to fast track it because she has eight other cases. this is not the only cases. this is not the only case she has in the philippines. she has eight other cases ongoing as well. and this has been the fastest. probably, i am and this has been the fastest. probably, iam not and this has been the fastest. probably, i am not sure, and this has been the fastest. probably, iam not sure, iam not one to speak to how the legalities of that will go. before we let you go, ijust wa nt to before we let you go, ijust want to ask you what your message would be to maria and two other journalists in message would be to maria and two otherjournalists in the philippines right now. journalism is more important than ever. worldwide. because

of the rise of authoritarianism. we need independent media more than ever. i know maria's strong, i saw her at her press briefing right after the verdict and she was still so clear on her mission. so maria, keep strong, keep doing what you are doing. you are doing a job. you got convicted for doing yourjob as a journalist. but that is what you do, you have to keep doing your job, you do, you have to keep doing yourjob, you have to keep shining the light. thank you so much for your time, thank you for joining much for your time, thank you forjoining us. my pleasure. moving on and looking at the coronavirus, because the indian government has announced a new plan to deal with the surge of coronavirus infections in the capital delhi. railway carriages are to be converted so they can take patients, and nursing homes will also be requisitioned. across india, the daily number of confirmed new cases has reached almost 12,000, and the total number of cases, more than 320,000, puts india fourth in the world.

reged ahmad has the story. this is the coronavirus intensive care unit in delhi at one of india's top private hospitals. but beds and treatment like this is expensive and hard to come by as the number of covid—19 cases climb. the shortage of beds has become so acute, patients have told stories of going from hospital to hospital in search of treatment. now in an attempt to deal with the crisis, india's home minister says 500 railway coaches will be converted to create 8,000 beds for covid—19 patients in delhi, and has promised a rapid increase in testing too. india has been converting train carriages into isolation wards since april, but doctors say a failure to test adequately has been one of the reasons behind the surge in cases. i think the one thing which our government is underestimating from the beginning is the increased testing, because we have to stop the spread, stop the

chain of transmission. on friday, the supreme court criticised delhi and three other states, saying covid—19 patients were being treated worse than animals. but delhi's chief minister has largely defended his state's handling of the pandemic. translation: we have been making a note and trying to identify the problems in the system and to rectify them so that more people don't suffer in the coming days. but we aren't perfect. not everything is alright. there is a lot lacking in our system, but at the same time, not everything is broken either. the situation has been further complicated by india's easing of its lockdown after restrictions began to take a huge economic toll on the country. some businesses, markets and places of worship have been allowed to open back up, but the move has been criticised for being too soon and too fast. i think this is not the right time to open up the economy. the government must first control the coronavirus

because coronavirus is a deadly disease. people's life has much more importance than any other factors and the government must take care of people's life first. delhi is the third—worst affected state in india, and the chief minister says the number of infections in the city could be more than 500,000 by the end ofjuly. so it's a race against the clock now to get the pandemic under control. reged ahmad, bbc news. health officials are warning that latin america is now the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with some countries reporting record numbers of infections. drivers took to their cars in mexico city to protest at the president's handling of the outbreak. in the latest figures, mexico reported 269 new deaths on sunday — taking the total to over 17,000. argentina, chile, colombia and peru have all reported record numbers of coronavirus infections over the weekend.

but the worst affected country in the region remains brazil, where more than 43,000 people have died of covid—19 — that's second only to the united states. there are now nearly 870,000 confirmed cases. the mayor of sao paulo, who has cancer, confirmed that he's now tested positive. translation: after four negative tests, today unfortunately, i tested positive for covid—19, for coronavirus. my doctor's advice since i have no symptoms is to stay at home. the french president emmanuel macron says his country has scored a first victory over the coronavirus and has strongly defended his latest strategy in dealing with the pandemic. in his latest televised address to the nation, more than three months after lockdown, he set out his roadmap for getting the country back to normal. freya cole reports.

in france, the mood is upbeat. the plan to reopen society to save the economy has been accelerated. translation: we are going to be able to turn the page on the first chapter, in a manner of speaking, of the crisis we have just been through. from monday, the whole country, apart from mayotte and guyane, where the virus is still actively spreading, the whole country will become part of what we now call the green zone which will allow a greater return to work and a reopening of cafes a nd restau ra nts in the paris region. it's now been a month since the country started easing lockdown measures and there has been no rise in new coronavirus cases. it means businesses will reopen fully and residents can travel across europe. from next week, nurseries and both primary

and secondary schools will welcome back students, and byjuly1st, international travel will be permitted to and from countries where the virus is under control. president emmanuel macron is particularly keen to support local companies and pivot away from global supply chains, a move which won't come cheap. translation: we will not finance spending by increasing taxes. the only answer is to build an economic model which is sustainable, stronger, and produce more so we don't depend on others. hand sanitiser, face masks and social distancing will all play a big part in discovering the new french way of life. freya cole, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the killing that shook the world. is the death of george floyd a watershed moment for the politics of race in america?

there was a bomb in the city centre. a code word known to be one used by the ira was given. army bomb experts were examining a suspect van when there was a huge explosion. the south african parliament has destroyed the foundation of apartheid by abolishing the population registration act, which for 40 years, forcibly classified each citizen according to race. just a day old, and the royal baby is tonight sleeping in his cot at home. early this evening, the new prince was taken by his mother and father to their apartments in kensington palace. germany's parliament, the bundestag, has voted by a narrow majority to move the seat of government from bonn to berlin. berliners celebrated into the night, but the decision was greeted with shock in bonn. the real focus of attention today was valentina tereshkova, the world's first woman cosmonaut. what do you think of the russian woman in space? i think it's a wonderful achievement and i think

we might be able to persuade the wife it would be a good idea if i could to get her to go up there for a little while. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: within the last hour a court in the philippines has found the prominent journalist, maria ressa, guilty of libel. the editor of the rappler news website now faces a possible jail sentence of up to seven years. new emergency measures are being introduced in india to tackle a surge in coronavirus cases in delhi. atlanta is one of many us cities to have seen protests since the killing last month of george floyd by police in minneapolis. and around the world, thousands of people have joined marches against racism. the bbc‘s clive myrie looks now at whether this could be a watershed moment for the politics of race in america.

george floyd's death was an american tragedy that sparked an outpouring of anger and soul—searching. we don't want no more police. but look at the faces. we are done dying! it wasn't just black america that was appalled, but white america too. chanting: don't shoot, don't shoot! this is a seismic shift in attitudes towards police brutality and racism. it was a point addressed by one black veteran civil rights activist at george floyd's funeral who had marched side—by—side with dr martin luther king. 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.

it's the denial on the part of much of white america that racism is widespread and real that's helped perpetuate the discrimination that they claim doesn't exist. listen to charlie sykes, a former right—wing talkshow host and staunch republican conservative. if you're a white american you might think this happens but it's random, it's a few bad apples here and there, but i think what we have been seeing the last couple of weeks is the recognition that it's notjust a few bad apples, it is systemic, it's incredibly widespread and that this situation, in fact, we have been in denial on it. penny sitz lives in one of minneapolis‘ comfortable suburbs, three streets away from the police officer who knelt on george floyd's neck. for the first time in her life, she's been taking part in street protests with her family. what has surprised me in the past week has been

seeing how widespread the abuse is and the brutality is. this is something i had no idea about. i knew it happened in a few big cities but i didn't think it was as widespread as it is. george floyd's brutal death held up a mirror to this country and most americans didn't like what they saw. if lasting change does come, it will be because of the sacrifice of one man who managed to bridge a once unbridgeable racial divide. clive myrie, bbc news. one of bollywood's best known actors, su—shant singh rajput, has been found dead in his apartment in mumbai. police believe the 34 year—old may have killed himself. rajput was best known for his acting in a bi—opic on former indian cricket team captain ms dhoni. bollywood's biggest stars have been paying tribute to him on social media. ishleen kaur has more. popularfor his acting

in both tv and film, the young bollywood heartthrob was lauded for his portrait of cricket star ms dhoni on the silver screen. rajput quit his studies in engineering to pursue a career in bollywood. as news of his death came, fans gathered outside his home in mumbai. translation: i'm feeling very sad so i came to this house to pay my respects. he was my favourite actor. he was a good actor. he did lots of good movies. he grew from being a small actor to a big actor. police have reported that the actor might have taken his own life. the news has shocked the indian film industry, and has once again put the spotlight on the importance of mental health. sushant singh rajput was reportedly battling depression. deepika padukone is one of many bollywood celebrities who have spoken about the need to seek

help after the news broke. outside the actor's home in patna, his uncle was one of those coming to terms with the news. translation: last night i was watching his programme on my mobile phone and today i got a call from my son saying there was news running about susha nt, and asked us where we were. i turned on the television and i broke down. i used to play with him when he was a kid. he was a brave boy of bihar. kumar abhishek was a childhood friend of the actor. translation: i've known him since childhood. we used to play cricket nearby. it's shocking to get this news about a boy with a very positive mindset. it's unbelievable this has happened. a self—made star and outsider are words being used to describe the actor, who was believed to be at the peak of his career. tributes and condolences have been pouring in as the country reels from the tragic news of the actor's demise.

ishleen kaur, bbc news. the prime minister of india amongst those paying tribute to sushant singh amongst those paying tribute to susha nt singh rajput. the russian orthodox patriarch, kirill, has consecrated a cathedral dedicated to the armed forces, a building in which president putin's image was once to have figured. the church dropped a plan to include mr putin in a mosaic of religious and secular figures, reportedly at his own request. the cathedral was built in less than two years in a theme park outside moscow, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of victory over nazi germany. a reminder of our top story. a court in the philippines has convicted the prominent journalist, maria ressa, of libel. she and a former writer with her news website,

rappler, were found guilty by the court in manila. both now face up to six years injail, though they've been released on bail pending appeal. the case has been seen as a test of freedom of the press in philippines. hello there. the broad weather pattern is going to change very little over the week ahead. it will be a week of contrasts in the uk, as it was over the weekend. many places in the south of england having a warm and sunny day on sunday. a dramatic skyline, though, in the north—west of england following those late in the day thundery showers, and an area of low pressure is keeping this very unstable airacross the uk, so more showers to come. a lot of low cloud is streaming in from off the north sea at the moment so a grey start in some places. but over the weekend, we keep this mixture of warm sunshine, but some heavy and thundery downpours. many places starting dry on monday. grey start for much of scotland and the north—east of england, down to lincolnshire and east anglia, burning back to coastal areas, sunshine develops more widely. as it warms up we develop those showers, particularly in the afternoon.

some of them heavy and thundery. not many showers across southern england. probably more chance of picking up some downpours as you move northwards across the midlands, wales, into the north—west of england and perhaps northern ireland. again a few sharp showers though are possible in western scotland, where it is going to be an awful lot warmer than it will be for eastern scotland, where we are struggling with that low cloud, the haar that's coming in off the north sea. now, many places will end monday dry and probably quite sunny as well, but there will be a few sharp showers still around in the evening. those will then fade away overnight, but we have still got this flabby area of low pressure. not a great deal to see on the pressure chart but enough low pressure and enough instability in the air to bring us more showers. and many places will start the day dry on tuesday again. a grey start for the north—east of the uk. should brighten up in most areas, some sunshine but, again, we trigger those showers. probably more widely those showers developing during the day on tuesday.

again some slow—moving, heavy, perhaps thundery downpours and temperatures again typically into the low 20s, as they will be again probably on wednesday. not a great deal is changing. those showers developing, perhaps this time more towards the west and the south of the uk. so for eastern scotland, north—east of england, whilst it may be a bit grey at times, it should be largely dry, and there may be some sunshine at times as well. temperatures not changing a great deal over the week ahead. we keep those heavy thundery showers going through thursday and friday, particularly across more southern parts of the uk as it dries up further north.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a court in the philippines has convicted the prominentjournalist, maria ressa, of libel. ms ressa, a critic of president rodrigo duterte, was found guilty along with reynaldo santos — a former writer with her news website rappler. both face up to six years in jail. india's federal government has announced new plans to deal with a surge in coronavirus infections in delhi as the country struggles to contain its covid—19 infection rate. india's total number of confirmed cases puts it fourth in the world in the pandemic. the french president emmanuel macron has defended his coronavirus strategy and set out a plan to return france to normal. he said borders would reopen from monday to visitors from many other eu countries. mr macron also promised to do more to tackle inequality. now on bbc news: hardtalk.