welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: rallies to celebrate juneteenth, the day americans mark the formal end of slavery 155 years ago. is about a reminder that we are not truly free, that there is so not truly free, that there is so much work that needs to be done. brazil's coronavirus epidemic hits over a million cases — with almost 55,000 new infections over the past 2a hours. with casualties rising in the fight againstjihadis, tens of thousands join an anti—government protest in mali. and the head of russia's foreign intelligence service tells the bbc that america has been trying to "rule the world" and this could lead

to "disaster". hello and welcome to bbc news. juneteenth, also known as freedom day, or the "black fourth ofjuly" is an unofficial annual holiday in the united states. the word is a combination of "june" and "nineteenth", and it celebrates the emancipation of african—americans from slavery. this was the scene in washington earlier — people are holding rallies all over the us. this year, the 155th anniversary comes as the country grapples with its long—standing history of racial tensions, as well as the fate of its confederate monuments, flags and symbols. the bbc‘s nick bryant looks at how people have been marking juneteenth and its emotional resonance today. say his name! crowd: george floyd! it's normally a date in the national calendar that,

for white americans at least, passes without much notice or recognition. but this year, juneteenth falls in the midst of the most widespread racial protests we've witnessed since the late 1960s, and is therefore loaded with much more meaning. events that often have a celebratory feel and revel in the richness in african—american culture feel more politically—charged and momentous. the cry once more is black lives matter. we have never truly been free in america, but that's what this movement is about today. it's about a reminder that we are not truly free. that there's so much work that needs to be done. this was a march in the nation's capital led by basketball stars from the washington wizards. 0n the eve ofjuneteenth, this confederate monument was removed from a suburb of atlanta, just the latest symbol toppled since the killing of george floyd in minneapolis. and these were portraits

of former house speakers who served in the confederacy being taken down from the corridors of power on capitol hill. there's no room in the hallowed halls of this democracy, this temple of democracy, to memorialise people who embody violent bigotry and grotesque racism of the confederacy. my dear citizens... there's been no address from the american president, but his wife, melania trump, released this video statement. ..as our country works through the racial issues that we still face today, it is important to remember we are one global community. because of juneteenth and accusations of racial insensitivity, donald trump postponed his first political rally since public gatherings were shut down. it's being held in tulsa, 0klahoma, an especially controversial setting because it was the site of a black massacre in the 1920s. this is a day that marks freedom and emancipation,

but these protests are yet another reminder that african—america ns have yet to achieve genuine racial equality. some american corporations for the first time granted employees the day off forjuneteenth, and they are growing calls to make it an official us holiday. america's racial reckoning shows no sign of abating. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. the civil rights activist al sharpton has addressed a juneteenth rally in tulsa, ahead of mr trump's arrival there for a separate rally on saturday. al sharpton inverted one of president trump's favourite slogans, saying those taking to the streets to protest were the ones who could "make america great" for everybody for the first time.

you can't be great when you handcuff a man, and even handcuffed, falling to the ground, over $20, and put his neck down, your knee on his neck, and hold it there, and hold it till his body's limp, and you are full of such venom and hate that you keep your knee on the neck of a man that could not get up and could not breathe. that is not greatness. greatness is when blacks and whites and latinos and asians, and original americans, hit the streets all over this country and march against your teargas, and march against your rubber bullets, and march against a military occupation you threaten, and march anyhow. that's what will make america great. applause. suzanjohnson cook is a former presidential advisor, pastor, and civil rights activist. she told us more about celebrating juneteenth

at this time. we're just having some technical problems but we will bring you that interview that i in the last hour a little bit later. —— that i did. the number of people who've tested positive for covid—19 in brazil has passed one—million — only the second country to do so after the united states. brazil has now registered a total of nearly 119,000 deaths — also the second worst toll in the world after the us. the virus is now said to be spreading into rural parts of the country. the bbc‘s katy watson says friday also saw a new record daily number of cases, suggesting the outbreak is far from over. we've seen 5a,000—plus now cases being registered on friday night. that is 20,000 more than the last record, earlier this week. now, the health ministry has said that in part it was due to inaccurate reporting from several states earlier this week,

but numbers are numbers. the fact is that the numbers of cases here in brazil are still rising at an ever—increasing rate, and the death toll as well. we have seen for four nights in a row more than 1,200 fatalities, so it's still very much in the middle of the crisis of the pandemic here in brazil. so huge numbers, katy. how are the political leadership responding to these numbers? very little. jair bolsonaro continues with his push to reopen the economy. for a long time, jair bolsonaro was at odds with the state governors who had imposed quarantine measures, but it feels like the pressure is filtering down. here in sao paulo, in rio as well, they're starting to reopen, trying to get back to some sort of normality. but, as you mentioned, this concern that it's going towards the interior of the country, inland, and there is less pressure on the cities. but in the smaller towns and cities of brazil, there's still a big concern about the spread

of the virus there. and what about the spread of the virus throughout the continent, i suppose — the world health organization saying this isn't defeated until it is defeated in every country, and that is the real worry. absolutely, i mean, brazil is not alone in this. we've seen a big spike in chile, in peru. and peru was a country that had a very early lockdown, very tough lockdown. the president was seen as taking, you know, tough measures, doing very well in it, but it has seen a spike in the numbers. argentina also had a very strict lockdown, and they have fared relatively better. but the eyes of the world are sadly on brazil here, because of the sheer number. of course, it is the biggest country, but it's also battling, you know, the biggest problem, and politically, certainly, there hasn't been the leadership that many people here in brazil would have liked to see. tens of thousands of people have taken part in an anti—government protest in mali. they are calling on the president to resign,

saying the west african country is suffering from political paralysis, economic decline and a long—running jihadist insurgency. simonjones reports. a show of defiance in the malian capital bamako. protesters gather in independence square calling for immediate change. they want a new plan to curb corruption and to fix the failing economy, but their main demand is that president ebrahim boubacar keita must go. translation: we are here to bring about an end to corruption, to bring about an end to prejudice, to bring about an end to this dying power which is no longer capable of educating our children keeping us healthy and requiring our army. mali has beenin requiring our army. mali has been in the grip of a islamist insurgency which has lasted for yea rs insurgency which has lasted for years and cost thousands of

lives. president boubacar keita has been accused of failing to contain it. earlier this week he offered an olive branch to his critics. speaking in parliament he said he would start talks to form a unity government. but it is not enough groups. they have come together to form their own coalition and have sent a letter to the presidential palace, listing their demands. if there is no reply they are warning of civil disobedience and threatening to occupy strategic locations. a delegation from the economic community of west african states who have been in the country to talk to both sides has so far failed to defuse tensions, meaning the instability is that to continue. more evidence has emerged of a greater risk faced by some minority groups in the uk from coronavirus. a major study has found the people of south asian origin have been

admitted to hospital are most likely to die from the illness. data taken from 35,000 people as shown by the death rate among south asians is higher than that of white people. the family of dr abdul mabud chowdhury have paid a heavy price during the coronavirus crisis. working on the front line of the nhs meant dr chowdhury, who died at the height of the pandemic, was already at risk of infection. now it's clear that as a man of south asian heritage, that risk was even greater. it was quite clarifying — it clarifies why my dad passed, because my dad was a really healthy, strong, fit man, so the fact that he wasn't able to fight this off, i knew it couldn't be a fault of his, but a fault on a larger scale, that larger scale being that south asians are so much more prone to dying from this virus. today's study of 35,000 hospital patients across england, scotland and wales found those from a south asian background were 20% more likely

to die than white people. with an average age of 60, they were also 12 years younger, and 40% of south asian patients had type 1 or type 2 diabetes, compared with 25% of white groups. asians and other ethnic minorities are in occupations which are at greater risk. we do need to think about how we deal with ethnicity and pre—existing conditions like diabetes as we ease lockdown, and potentially, if other preventative treatments such as vaccination are available in the future, how those are used. higher rates of diabetes accounts for some of the increased risk among the south asian community, but not all of it. poverty, employment and housing may also play a role. and for these two gps in manchester, that leads to wider questions around improving the integration in minority communities into the health system. many communities live in a bubble, and in efffect

find it difficult to understand or accept messages that come out from government, because there's language barriers or cultural barriers. and it's how we, as a wider system, make sure that the messages get across, but the messages are also implemented. the emphasis needs to also be on employers to do risk assessments on the employees, and that covers all aspects of workers, from taxi drivers to people working in supermarkets. the sense of loss felt by the chowdhury family is one shared by thousands more, and still we are discovering disturbing new details about this virus. dominic hughes, bbc news, manchester. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: he played a hobbit, an android, and an inspirational running coach. the 0scar—nominated actor sir ian holm has died.

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 news. the latest headlines: after weeks of protests over the death of george floyd, rallies are being held to mark juneteenth, the unofficial holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the united states. suffering the world's worst outbreak of coronavirus outside the united states, brazil has reached over a million cases and 119,000 deaths. two canadian men have been charged with spying in china. michael kovrig and michael spavor were arrested in december 2018, shortly after canada detained huawei's chief financial officer, meng wanzhou, on a us warrant. chinese prosecutors say the canadian men are suspected of foreign espionage and leaking state secrets. robert malley, previously a special advisor to presidents clinton and 0bama, is president of the international crisis group, for whom michael kovrig was working when he was detained. hejoins us now

from washington. thank from washington. you very much forjoining us. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you. so what was your reaction when you heard the charges? well, of course the same feeling of outrage and feeling that the charges were com pletely feeling that the charges were completely baseless, but also, sadly, the sense that this was not unexpected, because the case from the outset has been a political case, not a legal one. it has been a political case masquerading as a legal one, and so this isjust par for the course. so what do you mean there, a political case masquerading as a legal one? well, as you said, this was china's retaliation for the detention and arrest by canada of the cfo of huawei. michael was in china with the knowledge of the chinese authorities. every time he went there, he happened to be there a week or

so happened to be there a week or so after ms meng was arrested and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. that's why he was picked up, not because of anything he did, but because of anything he did, but because of who he was. what was he doing there? he was doing what crisis group analysts to everywhere, and when he went to china he would speak to chinese officials. they knew that he was there, they would often invite him, and he would talk to them because he was doing research on how china could play a role in trying to resolve and prevent deadly conflict, which is again what we do all around the world. there was nothing secret about it. so to say that he was stealing state secrets for the united states, what he was doing was not secret, and the reason china arrested him was not secret either. what do you think happens next? i think what happens next is what has been happening now for 557 days, the length of time that he has been arbitrarily detained and michael has been arbitrarily detained, which as we continue, the us government and the canadian government, to continue to try to persuade china that it should not be arbitrarily detaining people from other countries, because that certainly is not going to

help its reputation. and meanwhile, canada and the united states need to continue to talk to china to try to reach a resolution of the case, the huawei case, which is the reason why michael is now being detained. he is a porn of this larger tug—of—war between china, canada and the united states —— pawn. china, canada and the united states -- pawn. well, how optimistic are you, then, of you getting the result that you want? i am convinced that we will get that result. i hope it will get that result. i hope it will be sooner rather than later, but china doesn't gain anything by detaining michael. they are holding him for the reasons i gave, and there needs to be some resolution so that he can get home and be reunited with his loved ones. ok, thanks very much for your time, robert malley there. thank you. russia's foreign intelligence service usually conducts its business behind closed doors, but in an exclusive forforeign media, its head invited the bbc in. in a wide—ranging interview, sergei naryshkin said that america has been trying to rule the world and that russia doesn't trust britain's position on the salisbury poisonings.

0ur moscow correspondent steve rosenberg has been talking to him. he runs one of russia's most secretive organisations, but sergei naryshkin agreed to meet me — the first time foreign media have been allowed inside russia's equivalent of m16. and he quickly took aim at america. translation: i think some politicians in the west had false expectations. they felt like that the world could be ruled from one centre — washington. the most important lesson from the past is that, if any country tries to rule the world all by itself, this will undoubtedly end in disaster. sergei naryshkin is a close ally of vladimir putin. they've known each other since their kgb days.

western leaders regularly accuse russia of waging a hybrid war against the west. the european union only recently accused russia of a campaign of disinformation over coronavirus. why is russia doing this? do you accept that it's happening? how can they say disinformation? russia sincerely offered to help our friend italy fight coronavirus. we sent them equipment and hundreds of military doctors. what kind of disinformation is that? but can you understand why perhaps in the west there is a lack of trust towards russia at the moment, when you look at some of the things that have been happening, like the salisbury poisonings, that britain believes russia is behind? we don't trust what the british government's been saying about salisbury. when they say it's highly likely that russia's to blame, we're not convinced by that. and, as moscow prepares for a giant world war ii

victory parade on red square, russia's spy chief accuses the west of downplaying his country's role in defeating hitler. many young people in the west and eastern europe think it was the usa alone that defeated nazi germany and liberated europe. such ignorance is not accidental. it's deliberate — to create the impression that everything good in the past and the present is connected with one country, america. social distancing rules are less stringent in russia, so what are the chances of a closer relationship between moscow and the west? well, russia's foreign intelligence chief had praise for one englishman, at least — winston churchill, seen here with the soviet dictatorjoseph stalin.

he was shocked that the churchill statue in london had been targeted by protesters. churchill was a great man, a great political leader. i think it's a real shame about the statue. how can you treat your own history like that? the russian spy who thinks the past needs guarding as much as the present. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. sri lanka's tourism sector contributes 20% of its gdp but it has been closed to holidaymakers since the lockdown. there are some plans to lure travellers back, as our correspondent reports. about 15 metres underwater, with divers dressed as mermaids, a sri lanka navy commander cuts a ribbon to declare this underwater museum open. based in the southern port city of gala, the navy says it is the first of its kind in the country.

the statues are made from discarded concrete and steel, and the project aims to encourage the regeneration of corals and fish breeding. gala is a favourite for holidaymakers. in 2019, sri lanka as a whole attracted around 2 million tourists, but the country's strict lockdown in march brought its multibillion—dollar tourism industry to a screeching halt. the curbs included a 24—hour nationwide curfew and a ban on any gathering. sri lanka's covid—19 case numbers and deaths remain very low compared to other countries, and its lockdown restrictions have been easing in recent weeks. earlier this month, officials held mock elections to test out new coronavirus voting measures ahead of parliamentary elections rescheduled for august. that is also when sri lanka is planning to open its borders to tourists, and it is hoping sites like these might help bring travellers back to its shores. reged ahmad, bbc news. the veteran stage and film actor sir ian holm has died. he was 88.

sir ian played bilbo baggins in lord of the rings and was 0scar—nominated for playing the coach in chariots of fire. sarah campbell looks back at his life. he was one of britain's most familiar and most reliable character actors, 0scar—nominated for this performance in chariots of fire. go! back again, get it level. i'll watch you, and observe. harold pinter said he was his favourite actor. if i can see the big prize hanging there, believe me, i won't waste any time. he was terrifying as the treacherous android ash in alien. at five foot five, he was often cast in diminutive parts. in the borrowers, he played one of a family of tiny people, opposite his then—wife penelope wilton. screams come with me in the passageway.

you do me wrong... at the national theatre, he was an acclaimed king lear. thou art a soul in bliss, but i am bound upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears do scald... yet, for 17 years, he refused to appear live because of stage fright. gandalf? bilbo baggins. as bilbo baggins in the lord of the rings, he captured the character's good sense and selflessness. i feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread. i need a holiday. a very long holiday. and i don't expect i shall return. rarely the star, but scores of productions were lit up by sir ian holm's wit, warmth, and intensity.

that's it from me. this is bbc news. goodbye. hello. the weather through the course of the weekend is looking a little bit mixed. we'll see some settled, largely dry weather, i think, on saturday. but do expect a bit more rain overnight, and into sunday as well. this picture was taken on friday afternoon in highland scotland, some blue sky and some shower cloud around there. for most of us on saturday, we're looking at a largely dry day. some spells of sunshine, similar to this. just one or two showers around, but i think most people should avoid them. so we have got this ridge of higher pressure building in. that should hold onto the weather for saturday. but this area of low pressure, this weather front, not far away. that'll be more of a player through saturday night, and into sunday too. so we start the morning, a few misty patches arond. one or two early showers across parts of southern

england, south wales as well. they'll drift through parts of the midlands into eastern england, i think, during the afternoon, but they are pretty hit—and—miss. many places staying dry, with some long spells of sunshine. it'll feel pleasantly warm, with temperatures between around 18 to 21 for most of us. but the winds will be picking up in the west, and we'll see that rain arriving into ireland, pushing into wales and western parts of england and scotland. and then overnight, the band of rain will sweep its way eastwards, so i think we'll all be seeing a spell of wet weather overnight and into the early hours of sunday morning. but still mild certainly overnight, with those temperatures holding in the teens for most of us. but, through the day on sunday, this cold front is going to push its way eastwards, so it will introduce some slightly cooler, fresher air coming in from the west. quite blustery conditions, as well. afairamount of isobars on that map. through the day on sunday, then, those showers push their way gradually eastwards. there will be some sunshine, but further heavy downpours moving in, particularly in northern ireland and western scotland throughout the day. perhaps a few between western

england and north wales, too. quite blustery winds, too, coming in from a south—westerly direction through the day on sunday. so temperatures still not bad for the time of year, somewhere between about 17—22 degrees. but it will feel that little bit fresher, particularly with the showers and the breeze around, too. as we move through monday and into tuesday, then well, you'll notice a weather trying to push into the north—west, but we've got an area of high pressure building up towards the east, and that combination is going to be moving this quite warm humid air up across the uk. so if we have a look at the outlook into the new working week, still a few showers around in the north, but temperatures on the rise for all of us. we could see highs up to about 31 degrees in london. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: rallies are being held across america to markjuneteenth, an unofficial holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the united states. demonstrations demanding justice are taking place in many cities. the day has taken on extra significance this year with the black lives matter movement. brazil has now recorded over a million cases of coronavirus and 119,000 deaths. it's the second worst affected country after the united states. the latest 24—hour total is the highest of the epidemic and the virus appears to be spreading into rural areas, especially in the amazon. the coronavirus alert level across the uk has been moved down from four to three because of a continuing steady decrease in the number of cases. a government minister has indicated that the two metre social distancing rule is likely to be eased in england very soon.