this is bbc news — i'm lewis vaughan jones with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. schools in california will not reopen for the new academic year as the us is hit by a new wave of coronavirus infections. displays of the confederate flag on us military bases around the world have effectively been banned by the defence secretary. china prepares for a weekend of heavy rain as 15 million people experience their worst flooding in decades. and — now, it's captain, sir tom moore who's knighted by queen elizabeth, for his health service charity work.

hello and welcome. california has announced rules which mean most of its schools will not reopen for the new academic year, as the us is hit by a new wave of coronavirus infections. the government's leading infectious diseases expert, anthony fauci, said all americans should be told ‘as forcefully as possible‘ to wear masks. our north america editor, jon sopel has more. when donald trump arrived in atlanta earlier this week and descended the steps of air force one, he was arguably breaking the law. the democratic mayor of georgia's biggest city had made it mandatory to wear a mask to halt the spread of coronavirus, and he wasn't. and now the pro—trump state governor, himself seemingly unsure whether it should be off or on, is suing the atlanta city mayor over forcing people to wear a face covering. mayor bottoms‘ mask mandate

cannot be enforced, but her decision to shutter businesses and undermine economic growth is devastating. i refuse to sit back and watch as disastrous policies threaten the lives and livelihoods of our citizens. georgia, like nearly all states in america, has seen a big surge in new cases. the mayor insists she's simply following the science and is incredulous at the action being taken by the state governor. when you are reckless, as the governor has been, when you disregard science, as the governor has done, then certainly people are suffering and people are dying in our state. into this debate has waded the administration's top infectious diseases expert. i would urge the leaders, the local political and other leaders in states and cities and towns, to be as forceful as possible in getting your citizenry to wear masks. but donald trump, at a white house event last night,

barely talked about the coronavirus. in fact, he seemed to want to talk about anything other than that. dishwashers, you didn't have any water, so the people that do the dishes, you press it and it goes again. and there were all manner of other topics, too. unable to get out to rallies, the white house is being used increasingly as a backdrop for his re—election campaign. in the debate over masks, donald trump has now been filmed wearing one. but what he hasn't done is gone that extra step and tell americans they have to wear a facial covering if they can't maintain social distance. a lot of health experts believe that until he does, then america's coronavirus nightmare just goes on. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the us defence secretary, mark esper, has, in effect, banned the flying of the confederate flag at american military bases around the world. he's issued a memo prohibiting what he called divisive symbols.

the confederate flag represents the states that fought to keep slavery during the american civil war. our north america correspondent, david willis, explains. the us defense secretary, mark esper, issued a very carefully worded memo today which didn't directly mention the confederate flag. it talked, that memo, of "rejecting divisive symbols," and it listed all the flags that could be displayed on us military installations and bases, both here and around the world. but conspicuous by its absence was the confederate flag. now, the flags of individual american states and territories can be flown, and so can those of countries that are allies of the united states, but the confederate flag is verboten effectively from now on. and that is not going to please president trump, who has defended it only a few

days ago, saying that display of the confederate flag was, as he put it, "part of american free speech". and it has come to closely be associated with white supremacist groups, among them, of course, the ku klux klan. but since the murder of george floyd in minneapolis back in may, the american military has been looking quite closely into its own racist past. it is a very diverse institution, the us military, but it does have a rather regrettable past in some ways, and not least its association with confederate generals with bases that have been named after them, bases such as fort hood, fort benning and fort bragg. now, the military is considering renaming those bases, but again it faces opposition from president trump, who believes that they are all part of america's "great heritage" and should retain

their current names. david willis in the us there. let's get some of the day's other news. a summit of european union leaders in brussels has ended for the day with no progress on a deal to help rebuild their economies after the coronavirus crisis. the recovery fund is proposed to be worth 750 billion euros, but there is profound disagreement on how it should be used. dozens of defenders of islamic law have protested in the sudanese capital khartoum against recent government reforms that allow non—muslims to drink alcohol and grant more freedom to women. under the new laws, women no longer need permission from a male relative to travel with their children and anyone convicted of renouncing islam will no longer face the death penalty. the financial crisis in lebanon has contributed to an energy shortage that people are trying to combat on their own. without mains electricity, many residents and institutions,

including hospitals are installing diesel generators. the lebanese pound has fallen by nearly 80% since late last year. at least 15 million people in central and southern china are experiencing their worst flooding in decades. wuhan — which experienced the first major outbreak of the coronavirus — is one of the cities affected. officials are warning that the public must prepare for a weekend of heavy rain in some places. more than 140 people are missing since the floods began last month. david campa nale reports. china experiences annual flooding, but this year's been far worse than usual. vast swathes of central and eastern china have been overwhelmed. heavy and continuous rains that began injune are continuing to batter regions along the yangtze river. waters in more than 400 rivers have exceeded warning levels. 33 have gone over

historic highs. whole towns are submerged, and others have been cut off. translation: this is a main road to eight villages in the former lizi township. now more than 7,000 people are stranded inside. the last time the yangtze basin saw average rainfall levels like this was in the early 1960s. flood control measures and relief work were up for review at a leadership meeting called by president xi on friday. illustrating the growing alarm, units of china's people's liberation army have been mobilised by the president. they're carrying out rescue operations and helping local people to shore up defences. there's particular concern with poyang lake, china's largest freshwater body. water levels there have hit historic highs, prompting

an effort by more than 100,000 soldiers and other personnel to prevent worse flooding. wuhan, where the novel coronavirus emerged late last year, warned residents to take precautions as water levels fast approached their maximum guaranteed safety level. dramatic improvement in the weather is not expected any time soon. david campanale, bbc news. british prime minister boris johnson has announced further steps to ease the coronavirus lockdown in england, offering a roadmap he says will return the country to significant normality, possibly in time for christmas. from the beginning of next month, employers will have the power to decide whether they want workers to return to the office, and those heading back to work can use public transport. vicki young reports. the journey out of lockdown has been slow and cautious. now the government's mapping out the next stage for england,

hoping to encourage us back on public transport... back to the office... ..and back to the shops. but even after all these months it's impossible to say whether life will be normal by november. even as we plan for the worst, i strongly believe we should also hope for the best. that means looking ahead with optimism, now extending our plan to lift the remaining national measures. the prime minister's next steps for easing the lockdown in england include, from august, more people can return to the workplace, facial beauty treatments and indoor shows can resume, and casinos can reopen. in september, schools, nurseries and colleges will reopen on a full—time basis. from october, subject to successful pilots, stadium events with audiences and other business events could be allowed. today we are publishing... there will be more cash for the nhs

and councils will have extra powers to deal with coronavirus outbreaks in theirarea. guidance that people should work from home if they can will change from the beginning of august. we're going to give employers more discretion and ask them to make decisions about how their staff can work safely. whatever employers decide, they should consult closely with their employees, and only ask people to return to their place of work if it is safe. some companies have said to their workers that they don't need to be back in the office untiljanuary. are you now saying that employers should be doing more to encourage workers back in august? obviously, it's not for government to decide how employers should run their companies. what we're saying now is that if employers think it would be better and more productive for their employees to come into the office and they can work in a safe way, then there should be discussions between the employers and employees.

city centres like birmingham have been badly hit. fewer workers going to the office has left businesses struggling for custom. it is weird cos birmingham, as we know, you come to birmingham and it's a vibrant place, everyone is crowded, hustle bustle, you knock into people, "oh, sorry," and you carry on. none of that now. it will take a bit of time for people's confidence to get back and people understanding you can come, it's ok to come to town but you have to be cautious. if you rush it too much we are going to go back to where we were before and there will be spikes in infection because a lot of people will think everything's finished and we have to be mindful of that. scotland and wales are following a more cautious timetable than england. our advice is that you should stay at home and work at home if you are able to do so. i positively don't want people to be returning to offices in the way that we did before coronavirus happened.

this pandemic has left leaders treading a precarious path between controlling the virus and kick—starting economic activity. borisjohnson always prefers an optimistic message. today he held out the possibility of life being normal by christmas, but even he warned several times that restrictions would be back in place if people didn't behave sensibly. the rules in england are relaxing again but there is no guarantee that everyone will feel confident about going back to the way things were. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: schools in california will not reopen for the new academic year, as the us is hit by a new wave of coronavirus infections. people are being told to wear face masks to stop a rise in infections. the flying of the confederate flag at american military bases around the world has effectively been banned by the us defence secretary.

the us supreme court judge ruth bader ginsburg says she's suffered a recurrence of cancer. justice ginsburg, who is 87, said chemotherapy treatment was going well. she said she was still fully able to continue her work. joining me is melissa murray, a law professor at the new york university school of law. thanks very much for coming on the programme. thanks for having me. first of all, what is your reaction to this announcement? well, it is perhaps not surprising. justice ginsburg has had a number of different health skirmishes, just as recently as last may, when she was hospitalised for a gallbladder infection. she has fallen ill the number of times over the last couple of years so over the last couple of years so this is perhaps not surprising, but nonetheless a blow to her many fans in the united states. it feels a bit inappropriate to pore over somebody‘s health, but why does it matter so much? right now,

the us supreme court is precariously positioned with five conservative justices appointed by republican presidents, and four liberal justices appointed by democrat presidents. and again, if justice ginsburg were to depart the court through retirement or other means, it would open up a seat and clearly shift the balance of power on the court to the right and to the conservatives. so it is something closely watched whenever any justice departs the court, but it is especially pitched because it is ruth bader ginsburg, who has been a lion of the liberal wing of the court. yes, just give us an impression of her professionally and personally? she was one of the pioneering women law professors in the us, and as an advocate, i did some of the most important supreme court decisions on women's rights. —— argued some. she was appointed in 1993 by bill clinton. she has been a sta lwa rt clinton. she has been a stalwart defender of women's rights on the court, including the right to abortion. it is clearly understood by her followers that if she were to depart the supreme court and be

replaced by a conservative, it would definitely shift the balance of power on issues like reproductive rights. so she is very closely watched for that reason. it is a stark contrast to many other countries, like the uk for example, where politics is completely taken out of thejudiciary, politics is completely taken out of the judiciary, and we don't know the personal opinions of the leading judges. clearly a very different situation there in the united states. you feel like it has been more politicised, more polarised? that been more politicised, more polarised ? that is been more politicised, more polarised? that is certainly the impression we get. is that the impression we get. is that the case, or has it always been that way? well, according to the framers of the us constitution, the supreme court was not supposed to be a political institution. it was supposed to be above the partisan fray. but of course, so partisan fray. but of course, so many issues partisan fray. but of course, so many issues are partisan fray. but of course, so many issues are politically fraught in the us, so that when they do percolate up to the court, they are bound to have some kind of political boundaries, and the court being as evenly pitched as it is right now, it is obviously going to be viewed as a political animal. of course, the chiefjustice

political animal. of course, the chief justice is political animal. of course, the chiefjustice is at great pains to avoid that appearance, and ina pains to avoid that appearance, and in a number of decisions this term, including a decision on abortion, decided with the liberals, i think in part to avoid the appearance of partisanship. —— he sided with the liberals. just finally, the idea that you carry on working despite this treatment that you are going through, despite your age, i mean, we shouldjust pause for a second understatement is a pretty remarkable achievement in itself? well, she is remarkable just in terms of her longevity in hertime on just in terms of her longevity in her time on the court, but she has been absolutely clear that she will continue to do thisjob while she that she will continue to do this job while she is fully able to do it, and she says she is still fully able to do it. she even called in from her hospital bed to oral arguments just in may. she is a stalwart worker and she continues to do that work. melissa, great to talk to you. thank you. a police officer in london has been suspended after footage emerged of him kneeling on a man's neck during an arrest. the metropolitan police's deputy commissioner

says the images posted on social media are "extremely disturbing." another officer has been placed on restricted duties and an independent investigation is underway danny shaw has the details. get off me! get off my neck! yesterday evening in islington. an officer appears to kneel on the neck of a man police are trying to detain. get off my neck! they were called after reports of a fight. the footage, shot by someone at the scene, shows the struggle with police. we've blurred the faces of those involved for legal reasons. at this point, the officer's knee seems to be on the ground, but his hand remains on the man's head. when i went to see what happened, there was a crowd and his knee was stood on his neck like i told you. when i got there, his knee

was on his neck still. the crowd has told him, "take your knee", they were screaming, "take your knee off his neck". so he listened to the crowd and removed his knee. scotland yard believes that in recent weeks, officers have been unfairly targeted for using force after footage of incidences appeared on social media. police say clips tell only part of the story. but on this occasion, the met‘s response to the video has been robust. in a statement, sir steve house, the met‘s second highest ranking officer, said... he went on... the incident comes after black lives matter protests sparked by the death of george floyd in america. a police officer knelt on his neck for almost eight minutes. after this arrest, the suspect was taken to a police station and examined by a doctor.

he's been charged with possession of a knife. danny shaw, bbc news. a quicker, less invasive test for the coronavirus, is being piloted in the uk. thousands of people are having samples of their saliva analysed, rather than swab tests which many can find uncomfortable. if the four—week trial goes well, more than a 250,000 people could be offered weekly tests. our medical correspondent fergus walsh has the details. right, so, take your pots, take the lid off. never has testing for coronavirus been so simple. lean your head forwards to get some saliva in the front of your mouth and then spit. jane, who is a nurse at a gp surgery, and her three teenage children, are part of a trial in southampton involving weekly testing of saliva. it's an alternative to nose and throat swab tests, which many find unpleasant. the swab test is quite invasive, especially if you're not feeling very well. if you've got a cough, it can really trigger a cough by putting something

in the back of your throat, and so it is much, much easier to do. most people with coronavirus have no symptoms on the day they are tested. so regular saliva sampling could be a way of detecting cases earlier. after months of home—schooling and lockdown, it might allow a return to normal life. yeah, very sensible. just to help get it over with, the pandemic over and done with, make it change lives. if the four—week trial is successful, then the whole of southampton — more than 250,000 people — could be offered weekly saliva tests in a bid to prevent infections from spreading. it does seem that people become positive in their saliva before they even become positive in the rest of their breathing tubes, the respiratory tract. so, if we're seeking to pick up this early spread, this may be the way forwards.

if the trial here in southampton goes well, saliva testing could play an increasingly important role in controlling the coronavirus epidemic. weekly testing could be done in schools, care homes, or in hot spot areas to try to prevent outbreaks from getting out of control. another advantage of saliva sampling is speed. it takes just 20 minutes for this laboratory in surrey to get a result, compared to hours for a swab test. the key remaining question is whether the saliva test is accurate enough to be rolled out widely, even potentially nationwide as a way of trying to end the epidemic here altogether. so, this saliva test has got the potential to be done on a very large scale, in multiple locations, and can be done at speed. so the sort of setting this could be done in could be almost like for a drive—through. you take the sample, you run the test, you have a result. so this could

revolutionise the way you actually carry out and do surveillance. it's negative. could, then, this be the way forward for us all, to have regular testing like jane and family? and perhaps a means of allowing us to abandon social distancing. fergus walsh, bbc news. captain sir tom moore, the centenarian who's raised millions of pounds for national health service charities here in britain, has been knighted by the queen in an outdoor ceremony at windsor castle. sarah campbell reports. for such an inspiring individual, it seemed appropriate that he should be given a uniquely special investiture. beneath brilliant blue skies and adhering to socially—distant guidelines, she used the sword which had belonged to her father, george vi, to knight captain sir thomas moore. to meet the queen was more

than anyone could expect. i mean, it was... never, ever, ever did i imagine that i should get so close to the queen and have such a kind message from her. that was really outstanding. it really was truly outstanding. and can you explain the message, what did she say? no! that's between you and her majesty? that's between the queen and i, yes. i've been really honoured that this should happen, and i'm thrilled that it did happen. and thank you everybody who subscribed to the funds, i really appreciate it, and thank you all very much. it all started with a family challenge to walk 100 lengths of the garden to mark his upcoming 100th birthday. sir tom's journey captured the imagination of people around the world.

the original target was to raise £1000 for nhs charities. the final amount topped 32 million. there to support him on his big day, his family. we've stood by in awe asafamily as these amazing things have happened to him, and we've been so delighted. we've never wanted the limelight. it's him. he's the beacon of hope. i can't believe we're actually here. we come and visit sometimes, but now it's... i'm speechless. this was a ceremony involving two people — one aged 94, the other 100 years old. both can be said to have helped keep people's spirits up during the darkest of days. sarah campbell, bbc news, windsor castle. in taiwan, lawmakers have thrown balloons full of water at each other inside the parliament. opposition politicians are unhappy with a government appointment. take a look. during the scuffle, punches were caught on camera. the lawmakers then threw water balloons at the speakers'

podium. their colleagues wore plastic raincoats and held up cardboard shields. it's the third brawl in the last fortnight. hello there. a good chunk of england and wales enjoyed sunny skies on friday, and in that sunshine, it was pretty warm. temperatures reached 29 degrees celsius towards london and south—east england. and then it was a sunny end to what's been a pretty cloudy week. further north—west, though, we had some cooler and fresher air. and what separated the hot from the cooler was this weather front. it brought some rain to parts of northern england, north wales, northern ireland, too. and the front itself, this area of cloud, stretches quite a long way out into the atlantic, and indeed, we've got this bump

on the cloud just here. that's known as a wave, and what that will do is it essentially will stop the weather front from moving very far very fast. so, small changes in the forecast as we get on through saturday. it means over the next few hours, we'll continue to see some rain across northern england, north wales, with rather misty conditions over the hills, a lot of low cloud. to the north of this, a few showers in scotland, a few clear spells as well. and to the south of our front, it's a warm night, temperatures around 15 degrees in cardiff and london. now, into saturday itself, this weather front‘s still with us, slow—moving. the rain turns a bit heavier for a time late morning, north wales, northern areas of england. but you can see all the while, the front doesn't really move very far very fast, so still bringing some damp weather to wales, northern england, the north midlands into the afternoon. south—east of our front, i think the temperatures could well reach the high 20s in the hottest spots, but further north and west, we've got that cooler and fresher feel to the weather. now, for the test match in manchester, well, it's not looking great, really. it's a damp morning here.

the rain slowly easing off, i think, as we head through the day, but there will be some disruptions to play here. now, through saturday evening and overnight, here is the same weather front only slowly moving down towards the south—east. so, on sunday, we will have a change in the weather pattern across east anglia, south—east england, a cloudy start to the day with rain at times. behind that front, brighter skies work in with some sunshine and a few showers into the north—west of scotland. what you will notice, though, particularly across the south east of england and east anglia, is a fresher feel to the weather. those temperatures back down generally into the high teens to low 20s.

this is bbc news, the headlines: schools in california will not reopen for the new academic year — as the us is hit by a new wave of coronavirus infections. people are being urged by the government's leading expert on covid—19 to wear face masks to stop a rise in infections. the flying of the confederate flag at american military bases around the world has effectively been banned. without directly referencing the flag, the us defence secretary mark esper issued a memo prohibiting what he called "divisive symbols". recent protests have renewed calls to ban the flag across the us. china is preparing for a weekend of heavy rain as 15 million people in central and southern china experience their worst flooding in decades. more than 140 people are missing since the floods began last month.