this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. rallies to rememberjuneteenth — the day americans mark the formal end of slavery 155 years ago. it's of slavery 155 years ago. about a reminder that we are it's about a reminder that we are not truly free. but there's so are not truly free. but there's 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 alone. 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. 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 — people are holding rallies all over the us to celebrate. this year, the 155th anniversary comes as the country grapples with its long—standing history of racial tensions. 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 for juneteenth, and there 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 the reverend al sharpton has been speaking to crowds in tulsa in oklahoma. he inverted one of president trump's favourite slogans, saying those fighting racism 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 dr daina berry is historian and the author of a black women's history of the united states. she's in austin, texas. thanks very much for talking to us. thanks very much for talking to us. thank you so much for having me. so what you make of this focus, there hasn't been a focus on juneteenth, this focus, there hasn't been a focus onjuneteenth, certainly in recent years. well,

actually, i'd beg to differ, it may not be a focus on mainstream america but juneteenth has been celebrated since the moment african—americans in since the moment african—america ns in texas under the freedom in 1865 and they started having formalise celebrations as early as a year later in 1866 and in cities like houston, there are large parts, where african—america ns go every year and celebrate and these are now becoming much more multicultural celebrations of parades and speeches and all kinds of things. so maybe the large media hasn't heard of juneteenth, but many african—americans juneteenth, but many african—america ns have. juneteenth, but many african-americans have. and what did you make of the fact that the president didn't seem to have heard of it? well, that actually didn't surprise me too much. i'm not surprised that he doesn't have much sensitivity to other cultures, from what we have seen, and he doesn't seem to ca re have seen, and he doesn't seem to care too much about african—american culture. by the way for like his is

cleaning some of the challenges we re cleaning some of the challenges were having now with visible brutality from the hands of the police and american citizens. so don't think he to these kinds of issues and i'm happy he cancelled the rally, but i think it was a poor choice to have a rally in tulsa at this time. yeah, that rally going ahead saturday evening, so if you hours away yet. back onto the context that juneteenth you hours away yet. back onto the context thatjuneteenth is being month this year, with the death of george floyd, and we're starting to see concrete, real changes and things like the way police forces are organised and there are small changes in different areas of the united states. what would you like to see next? i'd like to see more reform and i'm happy for the baby steps, but i think it's time we dealt with theissue think it's time we dealt with the issue of racism and the ramifications of the ways in which people of colour have been treated in this country. there needs to be not only

police reform but economic reform, there needs to be reform, there needs to be reform in schools. i mean, a lot of the legislation from the late 1890s, early 19th century had to do with segregation and putting african—america ns and other people of colour underneath white superiority. and that has changed over the yea rs, and that has changed over the years, but we need to see more change. we need to see legislation changed, we need to see the way people are prosecutorjames. we see the way people are prosecutor james. we need see the way people are prosecutorjames. we need is the way in which african—americans, in particular, are highly incarcerated at different rates and the ways in which justice is meted out is not so much their white brothers and sisters. 0k, dr daina berry, thank you very much forjoining us. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you. 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. 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's 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. katy watson there. more evidence has emerged of the greater risk faced by some minority groups in the uk from coronavirus. a major study has found that people of south asian origin, who've been admitted to hospital, are most likely to die from the illness. data from nearly 35,000 people found the risk of death for south asians was up by a fifth compared to that for white people. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. 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 effect 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. you're watching bbc news. a reminder of our 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. 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 in numbers, 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 ibrahim 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 equipping our army. mali has been in the grip of a islamist insurgency that has lasted for eight years and cost thousands of lives. president keita is accused of failing to contain it. earlier this week he did offer an olive branch to his critics. speaking french speaking in parliament, he said he would start talks to form a unity government. but it is not enough for opposition groups. they have come together

to form their own coalition, and have sent a letter to the presidential palace, listing their demands. if there's no reply, they're 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 set to continue. russia's foreign intelligence service usually conducts its business behind closed doors. but in an exclusive for foreign media, its head invited the bbc in. 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 is 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 around 11% to its gdp — but the country has been closed to holidaymakers since its strict coronavirus lockdown. now there are some novel plans to lure travellers back, as reged ahmad reports. about 15 metres underwater, with divers dressed as mermaids, a sri lankan 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 uk government is planning to relax its travel quarantine early next month for some people arriving in the uk. at the moment, almost anyone arriving from any country apart from the republic of ireland must self—isolate for two weeks. but talks are ongoing with officials from a number of european countries

about establishing travel corridors, meaning passengers on certain routes will be exempt. 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. the life of sarah ian holm there. —— sir ian holm. we've long been told of the potential hazards of climate change. warmer temperatures could lead to rising sea levels — and huge disruption around the world. but for some the consequences may not be so negative. there are places where climate change is providing new opportunities — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. when you think of wine production, you probably consider countries like france, italy or spain. well, how about norway? this is sonia fewer, which is on the same latitude as greenland and alaska. but that hasn't stopped yawn and his wife setting up their own thriving vineyard. translation: here, we succeeded in going 55 different types like chardonnay and pinot noir.

me, asa like chardonnay and pinot noir. me, as a wine peasant, climate change is positive because the gets warmer. —— the weather gets warmer. —— the weather gets warmer. —— the weather gets warmer. in the last few decades, average temperatures and we have increased by more than1 and we have increased by more than 1 celsius by some estimates, that figure could go buy another three degrees by the end of the century was not but according to bjorn, the impact is already being felt. translation: the seasons are getting longer, they start earlier and and later. the days are so earlier and and later. the days are so long and we had 30— 40% more daylight than in france stop for now, this is still a small operation, producing only a limited number of bottles. but crucially, what does it taste like? translation: good, a bit acidic, says this man. bjorn is ambitious, but believes in a few decades there may be

vineyards all over the country. isn't it fine, norwegian wine? tim allman, bbc news. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. 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 around. 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 about 18—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, western parts of england and scotland. and then overnight, the band of rain will sweep its way eastwards, so i think we're all going to 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 for northern ireland and western scotland later on in 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 out 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 in response to 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,