welcome to bbc new. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: independence day in the us is overshadowed by another big increase in coronavirus cases, and president trump defends the nations‘ past heroes. we will not throw away our heroes, we will honour them and we will prove worthy of their sacrifice. and at the washington monument in the capital, protestors gathered in large numbers, as fireworks light up the 4th ofjuly night sky. a major easing of the coronavirus lockdown in england, with pubs, restau ra nts, and hotels able to re—open. more than 200,000 people are back in lockdown in part of spain's catalonia region, to the west of barcelona.

welcome to the programme. president trump has declared the united states to be the greatest and most virtuous nation in the history of the world, in a speech marking independence day. addressing crowds outside the white house, the president attempted to reach out to all americans, saying the country's rich heritage belonged to every citizen, from every background, no matter our race, colour, religion or creed. he reafirmed his determination to put america first, and promised to defend its history and heroes from those who would tarnish them. let's take a listen. this incredible story of american progress is the story of each generation picking up where the last finished, linked by time, by fate and the internal bonds of our national affection.

those who would sever those bonds would cut us off from the wisdom, the courage, the love and the devotion that gave us everything we are today, and everything we strive for tomorrow. we cannot let that happen. we will not throw away our heroes. we will honour them and we will prove worthy of their sacrifice. steve herman is the white house bureau chief for the international media organisation voice of america. he says the president was trying to appeal for votes in the run up to november elections. well, he is trying to appeal to his supporters and independent voters that he desperately needs for re—election in november, that there is this threat

from the far left, "anarchists" as he calls them, socialists, and others who want a revisionist view of american history — literally tearing down these statues of people have long been considered heroes in this country — and doesn't want to see this discussion take place about a more balanced view of american history. well, on that slightly rebalancing view of american history, just stay there, steve. i just want to listen to these, because the bbc went out and spoke to three young african americans who are among protesters out on the street, calling for an end to racism today, and actually calling forjuneteenth, which celebrates the official end of slavery in america, to be a more appropriate holiday for black americans to celebrate. let's take a listen. the fourth ofjuly is not a day for me, for people who look like me.

as a new nation, even while celebrating independence, we were still widely practising slavery. for black americans, that story of independence is historically inaccurate. as you grow older and older, you start to realise that all of the men in these wonderful pictures, who were the founders of this country, none of them look like you, even worse, some of them owned black people. we still have this identity crisis. a lot of people are trying to figure out what does it mean to be a black american? for some black americans, it means they made it to citizenship. they fought 400 years to celebrate this holiday. for a lot of black americans, there's been this big push to reinvigorate celebrating juneteenth, which happens on june 19. i think now, with everything that is happening in our cultural and political climate, that a lot of black americans are turning to that holiday instead of the fourth ofjuly. it is interesting. for people who don't know, the fourth of july is independence for the united states from the uk,

and no—one, i don't think, is arguing that that shouldn't be remembered and remarked upon. but this year, there is such a wider conversation going on about american history. sure, and juneteenth is also getting the support of senators in the president's own party. so there is some likelihood that that could become the next new official federal holiday in the united states. but the question that the republicans are asking, and the president has put front and centre, is on this approach to reviewing history and tearing down statues — where does it stop? george washington, thomas jefferson, early presidents of the united states, heroes of the country's founding, they were slave owners. so, should all images of them be removed from public? and that is a bridge too far, and maybe even for mainstream

democrats as well. so that at least is one point that the president is hammering on that may find a wider audience beyond his base. do you think that is the calculation then? because his speech yesterday at mount rushmore is very similar, amplifying this kind of culture war and a fightback against, in his words, "the hard left". is he setting up and teeing up this fight deliberately to try and, well, not only appeal to his base, but actually appeal to more moderate voters? well, there is no doubt about that is what he's attempting to do, but what we are hearing from some republican lawmakers, they are worried about this approach, that, yes, this resonates with the core, but painting everybody who doesn't fully support the president's policies across the board as anarchists and that basically taking approach to everybody who's been on the streets in past weeks in the united states are elements that

are dangerous, painting the black lives matter movement in one sweeping hand as a bunch of marxists. there is a lot of empathy for what these people on the streets are demonstrating for, against the police brutality, and for the president to take such a stark view could backfire. interesting. fascinating stuff. just while i've got you, steve — just one quick question if that is all right on coronavirus, because so many of these celebrations that we'd normally see people out on the street on the fourth ofjuly clearly not happening. certainly. yesterday at mount rushmore were many people not practising social distancing, most of them not wearing masks, this administration we are hearing, is going to possibly

adopt an approach that we just have to live with this virus now, and this at a time when we are seeing the number of cases going up, hospitalisations increasing, but what the administration is pointing to is that the death rate is going down, and everyone is hoping that that holds. steve herman. after three months of coronavirus lockdown, england has taken a big step towards normal life, with the largest lifting of restrictions so far. in the last 2a hours, a further 67 people are reported to have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths in the uk to a4,i98. the major relaxation of rules in england means pubs, restaurants, and hairdressers can reopen. our business editor, simonjack, reports from torquay, in the south west. no—one really knew what to expect today. would we be battering down the doors of the pubs, three deep at the bar, desperate for a pint, or would it be completely deserted ? none of those feared outcomes happened neither of those feared outcomes happened but it depended on which business you were in.

it was slow and steady, certainly at the start today for the pub trade, but there was certainly no lack of demand for a long overdue post—lockdown haircut. 7am in torquay and alex walker is opening up his hair salon for the first time in nearly four months. visors, and a last—minute team briefing, before the first customers arrive at 8:00. everybody will be happy to be here, so let's just take care of everybody. excited! they didn't seem fazed by the new procedures. at the end of the day, it's worth adapting a little bit to be able to come back and sort out, and look like ourselves again and not worzel gummidge! she's happy, he's happy. despite the extra cost, alex is confident the business is viable. i would not be stood here if i couldn't make any money, so yeah, we've adjusted our system, we've had a small adjustment to our prices, to make it sustainable, but i think, if you don't do that, then you might not have a business. the big moment, iiam, opening time for the rock garden pub.

there was certainly no early, unmanageable crush, customers trickled, rather than flooded in, but by midday... cheers, guys. cheers! ..folks were getting back into the swing of it. as long as everyone keeps away from each other and sticks to the guidelines, i can't see it being too much of an issue. with all the staff members wearing their face masks, it's what you want. feels safe, definitely. the other fear was that not enough people would turn up to make economic sense to reopen. 0wner dave walsh said that, while it was quieter than expected or hoped, it was still important to reopen today. it is great to reopen. everyone needs to reopen, not just for ourselves, it's also for employees, the job security, and the community as a whole. this feels like an important moment for the national psyche, a welcome glimpse of normality, welcome signs of economic activity, so important in tourist towns like torquay. but it's also a nervous moment. businesses and the government will be watching carefully to see whether we're getting enough economic bang for the health risk buck.

around town, there were reminders of the economic risks to one of the sectors hardest hit by the virus. this crisis is definitely not over, jobs wise. we know that businesses are saying a third of premises may not reopen and that means half a millionjobs remain still at risk over the next three months. 2pm at the pier point restaurant, and lorraine arnold fears she's one of the 75% of businesses who will make a loss this year. we've spent an awful lot of money getting it prepared, ready to open it and then we could not open it. we have written it off, we are likely to break even this year but at least we are going to get open and say, we're back. the danger of another spike and lockdown is still out there but, for an industry crippled by this virus, today was an important step forward. simonjack, bbc news, torquay. let's get some of the day's other news: the polish president, andrzej duda, has called for the country's constitution to be amended,

to enshrine the current ban on same—sex couples adopting children. mr duda, an ally of the governing, right—wing law and justice party, made the comments while campaigning for re—election in a run—off in just over a week's time. a former senior adviser to argentina's vice president, cristina fernandez de kirchner, has been murdered. the body of this man, fabian gutierrez, was found buried near his home, two days after he went missing. four suspects have been arrested. he was a key witness in an investigation into a corruption racket allegedly led by mrs fernandez when she was president. thousands have ta ken to the streets of paris for a pared—down celebration of pride. the french capital's official pride parade was postponed to november because of the coronavirus pandemic, but organisers decided to hold a march they said should be more politically driven and support the black lives matter movement. those taking part in the lgbt+ rally called for racial equality and protested

against police violence. iran has introduced the compulsory wearing of face masks in covered public spaces to help combat the coronavirus pandemic. after cases fell in april the daily rate has risen again. towns and cities in five provinces have been put back into lockdown. president hassan rouhani said people caught not complying will be denied basic state services. workplaces which break the new rule will be closed for a week. to spain now. in the catalan capital — barcelona — one of the most famous churches in the world is reopening to visitors. but in another area, more than 200,000 people are facing a new lockdown due to a surge in coronavirus cases. alanna petroff has the latest. ba rcelona's sagrada familia is the most visited building in spain, attracting millions of tourists a year. this it is re—opened from lockdown for a select special group —

frontline workers. healthcare professionals were invited to look around, with barcelona's archbishop leading the tour. translation: it is the first time i have come here, and for me it represents a gift for our efforts and hours of work in recent months. so i am quite grateful. i think it shows recognition of our contribution. even for those who do not believe in a higher power, it is a time to be thankful. new confirmed cases in spain are down significantly. the country has been reopening. but that is not the case in another part of catalonia, about a two—hour drive west, in the county of segria a new lockdown is now in force after local authorities saw a spike in cases. in this hospital, in the city of lleida, the number of patients coming in with covid—i9 has tripled in the last ten days.

translation: we believe that we have to take specific measures in lleida to protect the most vulnerable people, to reinforce the protection in our health centres and the hospital itself. new police checks ensure locals stay in, outsiders stay out. the lockdown is expected to run for about 15 days. it is part of a new plan design to ensure it is part of a new plan designed to ensure this outbreak does not get out of control again, cutting down on scenes like this — flashing lights on ambulances, patients on stretchers. alanna petroff, bbc news. this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan—jones. 0ur this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan—jones. our main headline this allah: —— hour: independence day in the us is overshadowed by another big

increase in coronavirus cases, as president trump defends the nation's past heroes. independence day in the united states celebrates freedom for most americans, but how are black americans thinking about marking the day at a time of nationwide protests for racial equality? some prominent black american commentators have been taking to social media to promote the famous the anti—slavery speech ‘what to the slave is the fourth ofjuly,‘ by frederick douglass. douglass was a former slave who escaped and later became a national leader of the abolitionist movement and confidant of president abraham lincoln. a little earlier we spoke to dr rashawn ray at the brookings institution. much of his research focuses on race and social activism, and i began by asking him to share with us an important passage from the anti—slavery speech ‘what to the slave is the fourth ofjuly,‘ by frederick douglass. i mean, frederick douglass gave this speech on july fifth, actually, 1852, and one of the statements he made was: "what to the american slave

is your 4th ofjuly? i answer; a day that reveals to him more than all other days in the year. the gross injustices and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. to him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass—fronted impudence, your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks—givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception impiety and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. there is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are people of these united states, at this very hour."

thank you so much for reading that. you can feel the power as you read them there. and it's not surprising so many people have been sharing that on social media today. what do those words mean to you? i think what they mean is continuing to have dreams deferred, to actually give a shout—out to langston hughes, and thinking about frederick douglass, him being a slave in maryland, on a very gruesome plantation where he was beating regularly, where others were beaten, he taught himself how to read and write. he then fed himself by actually breaking away from his master, actually beating his master and then heading north, going on to become one of america's and the world's greatest writers. —— freed himself. greatest orators. he also helped president lincoln to rethink slavery and of course he was part of the abolitionist movement and helped to found the north star periodical.

and what do you make of the conversations that we're having right now of course, but have been having throughout the day today, on the fourth ofjuly? it feels a very different year this year than previous years. really serious questions being asked about what it actually means. what do you make of it? well, i think what is happening right now isjuly 4th has always been a holiday of contradictions. if we go back, people like myself up until 60 years ago couldn't vote, couldn't live in any neighbourhood that they wanted to. now these sorts of things are possible. however, what is happening right here at this moment with a global pandemic related covid—i9, the fact that millions of americans are still out of work, the fact that covid—i9 is hitting the united states worse than basically any other country in the world, and then of course this is coupled with a continuation of police brutality, a continuation of structural racism.

so i think it's a lot of people, black, white, and otherwise who are hurting in the united states, who don't necessarily see thisjuly 4th, 2020, as something to celebrate but instead an opportunity to reflect, to rethink what we want to see in november and what we want to see in 2021 and moving forward. and rashawn, your thoughts on one final issue before we leave it. in the last hour we heard from people talking about juneteenth again and calling for that to be the real day that americans mark. what is your reaction to that? well, obviously juneteenth is the day when some of the last slaves in galveston, texas, learned of their freedom. and as i have written about it at the brookings institution, i thinkjuneteenth should not only be a national holiday, but a rallying cry for reparations. what we're seeing is college—educated blacks have seven times less wealth than college—educated whites.

what we're seeing is black americans are 3.5 times more likely to be killed by the police when they are not attacking. what we're seeing is black houses, not houses in predominantly black neighbourhoods, are worth $50,000 less than those in predominantly white neighbourhoods, and we put all of these stats together and again we see dreams deferred. in supposedly the home of the free and the home of the brave, we aren't seeing that, and we need to invest in policies and i think your intent can help in this, i think reparations can help in this, and i think more progressive policies can get us into a point where racial equality and freedom is something that america really stands for. in japan, 14 people are believed to have died at a nursing home and more than 200,000 have been ordered to leave their homes. it comes after floods and landslides hit the southern island of kyushu. here's reged ahmad. at first glance, it looks like a normal river flowing through a valley. but a closer look reveals the brown, fast—moving flood waters swirling around submerged homes, with just the tops of houses visible.

this is just one of the multiple towns and cities in southern japan's kumamoto prefecture hit by devastating flooding after torrential rains. much of it is due to the swollen kuma river bursting its banks in several places. japan often experiences a wet season, but authorities have described the amount of water falling in this area as "unprecedented". translation: i instructed officials to take every possible measure to deal with the rain disasters in the country's south—west, with the priority to save lives. the government plans to send some 10,000 self—defense force members to the regions. military helicopters have already been airlifting stranded residents in dramatic rescues as floodwaters trap people in their homes. translation: i asked my neighbour for help after my house was flooded to the second floor. the neighbour carried me

on his back, because i have problems with my feet. translation: the building floated up and i was washed away. it happened in an instant. more than 200,000 people have been ordered to leave, as authorities made a grisly find at a nursing home facility that was flooded. some of the residents had died, while others were suffering from hypothermia. some of the missing may also have been caught up in massive landslides in the area, and there are reports rescue services have been overwhelmed by calls for help — something that will no doubt continue as more rain is forecast over the weekend. reged ahmed, bbc news. earl cameron, one of the first black actors to forge a successful career in british film and television, has died at the age of 102. he passed away in his sleep surrounded by his wife and family. his career spanned more than 60 years, with appearances on both stage and screen. the bbc‘s tim allman

looks back. seven, six, five, four, three... 0ctober seven, six, five, four, three... october 1966, seven, six, five, four, three... 0ctober1966, and a little bit of history is being made. for the first time anywhere, a black astronaut is depicted on screen. and the man doing the honours his earl cameron. 0k, bluey. i'll do ground check. his was a familiarface on ground check. his was a familiar face on both cinema and television screens, a mix of power, charisma and reassurance. so of power, charisma and reassurance . so one of power, charisma and reassurance. so one of of power, charisma and reassurance. so one of them is left to face the ordeal of the key. tributes flooded in on social media. american filmmaker ava duvernay tweeted: fellow actor patterssen joseph called him :

—— paterson. and film historian matthew sweet said: earl cameron was born in bermuda in 1917. as a young man, hejoined bermuda in 1917. as a young man, he joined the bermuda in 1917. as a young man, hejoined the british merchant navy, arriving in the ukjust after merchant navy, arriving in the uk just after the start of world war ii. eventually, he began acting, and would appear in films as diverse as thunderball and inception. in a statement, his children said he refused to take roles that demeaned or stereotyped the character of people of colour. he was truly a man who stood by his moral principles, and was inspirational. the actor earl cameron, who's died at the age of 102.

well, that's it. i will be back with the headlines in a couple of minutes. thanks very much for watching. this is bbc news. hello, the first half of the weekend was grey and breezy for most of us. the second half of the weekend is looking thoroughly windy, unusually windy for the time of year. expecting gales and places through the day ahead. it should be a bit of sunshine but also some showers. low pressure firmly in charge of the scene. this looks more autumnal than summer. lots of white lines you can see on the chart, isobars, with the wind is strong throughout the day. a frontal system bringing patchy cloud into the south—east first thing, which will clear quickly, and then a fair amount of sunshine. some showers as well, some of those will be really heavy. particularly across parts of northern england, northern england and scotland. there could be the odd flash of lightning, the rumble of thunder mixed in. these are the wind gusts you can expect. the windiest weather of all across parts of ireland, scotland. gusts of 50—60 miles per hour and maybe stronger winds to the east of the pennines. that could cause disruption

to travel, particularly for high—sided vehicles. it will feel relatively cool. as we head through sunday night, you can see further showers in the forecast, particularly across the northern half of the uk. it stays fairly windy. i think the winds will ease a little as we head into the first part of monday. and also its going to be a slightly cooler, fresher night. temperatures in a few spots getting down into single digits. so on monday, we'll see low pressure sliding away towards scandinavia. high pressure starting to build in from the south—west, between the two, still fairly brisk winds across the country. these winds coming down from the north—west. so that's never going to be a particularly warm wind direction. but as you can see, not as many showers through the day on monday.

a fair amount of dry weather and some spells of sunshine. but those temperatures, 16—20 degrees, just a touch below what we might expect at this point injuly. now, tuesday looks like a dry day for most. patchy rain in the far north of scotland, otherwise a fair amount of dry weather. but it looks like more rain will work in from the west as we head towards the afternoon and evening. as temperatures again on the low side, 14—21 degrees. and as we head through the middle part of the week, wednesday into thursday, some further outbreaks of rain at times. and those temperatures just a bit below par.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: independence day in the us has been overshadowed by another big increase in coronavirus cases. the president faces a tough re—election campaign and is eager to mobilize his political base. at the celebrations he defended the nations past heroes. and at the washington monument in the capital, protestors from the black lives matter campaign group and pro—trump make america great again demonstrators gathered in large numbers as a huge fireworks display was taking place. 200,000 people are back in lockdown in part of spain's catalonia region after a sharp rise in infections in segria, a zone that includes the town of lleida, some 150 kilometres west of barcelona. a major easing of the coronavirus lockdown has taken place in england, with many restaurants, and hotels able to re—open. pubs also opened for the first time in three months, but there are reports that social distancing became harder to enforce as the day wore on.