this is bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country has interfered in british politics, or tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. i do not believe in the story at all, there is no sense in it. the veteran american civil rights leader and long—serving congressman, john lewis, has died at the age of 80. eu leaders struggle to reach an agreement on a 750 billion euro economic recovery package to repair the damage done by the coronavirus pandemic. and lewis hamilton sets a new track record as he takes pole position for the hungarian

grand prix. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. the russian ambassador to the uk has flatly rejected british allegations that his country's intelligence services have tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. speaking to the andrew marr show, andrey kelin also denied russia's involvement in last year's general election, and even suggested, following russia's referendum on its constitution, that cyber attacks aimed at his country originated in the uk. we do not interfere at all.

we do not see any point of interference because for us, whether it will be the conservative party or labour party at the head of this country, we will try to set up relations and to establish better relations than are now, either with this or with that. now, the conservative party have won and we are working on this relationship. i have to mention that a commission, which is now studying the results, they have discovered several cyber attacks, also proceeding from the territory of the united kingdom, but we do not accuse the united kingdom of that, what has happened. the ambassador also said russia was willing to start a new chapter in its relations with the uk, which have cooled in recent years, partly due to the 2018 novichok poisioning in salisbury, thought to have been carried out by two officers in russia's intelligence service. andrey kelin also took aim at britain's imposition of sanctions on individuals implicated in the death of russian lawyer sergei magnitsky in 2009.

as for magnitsky, we will find the way to punish those who are making these types of sanctions because sanctions are illegal. there is only one body who can impose sanctions and this is the united nations. as you said, the united kingdom is a member of the security council. we are prepared to turn the page and we are prepared to do business with britain, to open once again our committees on investment that we have had, the committee on energy we have had and to conduct normal relations. we still do not understand why some spy story should disrupt this important business relationship which would be very helpful to britain in time when it is exiting from the european union. sir tony brenton was the uk's ambassador in moscow between 2004 and 2008. we spoke to him earlier

for his thoughts on whether uk and russian relations could improve. i am not optimistic. 0ur relations with russia are as bad as they have ever been and they were pretty bad when i was the ambassador, and they have got steadily worse since. and here also, i have to say, he has a point. we, the uk, are a leading member of the international community, we're keen to play an active role on issues like syria, libya, ukraine and cyber warfare, and on all of those issues, we cannot play as effective a role as we would like to if we did not have some sort of dialogue with russia. so, while they have behaved appallingly in international life, while this espionage and interference in the election and all of that is almost certainly true and is very damaging, of course, nevertheless we need to build up a working relationship with them in a way that we don't have at the moment. morally, how do you set all that to one side?

one of the last surviving leaders of the civil rights movement of 1960s america, john lewis, has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer. he was 80 years old and had been a congressman for more than 30 years. rajini vaidyanathan has been looking back atjohn lewis‘ extraordinary life. john lewis dedicated his life to fighting racism. he marched alongside martin luther king, and lived to see a black president. born in alabama in 1940, john lewis grew up in an america that was deeply segregated. i would come home and ask my mother, ask my father, "why segregation, "why racial discrimination?" they would say, "that's the way it is, don't get in the way, "don't get in trouble." but dr king inspired me to get in the way, to get in trouble. as a student activist, he became a close ally of dr martin luther king,

fighting racial injustice with a message of nonviolence. he took part in sit—ins against white—only lunch counters, and was beaten by white mobs as he peacefully protested segregation on buses. you arrest me, you beat me, you throw me injail. what else can you do to me? # we shall overcome.# in 1963, john lewis was the youngest speaker at the march on washington where dr king delivered his famous "i have a dream" address. two years later, they marched for voting rights from selma to montgomery, alabama, where they were attacked by police. by the 50th anniversary of that march, john lewis had become a politician known as the conscience of the us congress. it is a rare honour in this life to follow one of your heroes. and john lewis is one of my heroes. diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, john lewis was seen

at recent protests after the killing of george floyd. we must keep the faith. keep our eyes on the prize. john lewis lived through many chapters of the civil rights movement. his mantra was simple, "never give up. "never give in." european union leaders in brussels are struggling to reach agreement on an economic recovery package worth 750 billion euros to repair the damage done by the coronavirus. a revised plan was discussed on saturday afternoon and the austrian chancellor, sebastian kurz, said things were moving in the right direction. however, he said questions remained about ensuring that eu money was used correctly. joining me now is christoph schmidt, brussels correspondent for the dutch trouw newspaper.

thanks for the dutch trouw newspaper. so much forjoinin! on thanks so much forjoining us here on bbc news. why is this taking so long? what are the main sticking points here? it is a very complicated set of elements. at least today there was some movement. yesterday was really frustrating because things didn't move at all. at least there was some movement today and it seems that this movement is going in the direction of the fall. netherlands, austria, denmark and sweden. they want to cut down a bit on this recovery fund and also on the whole package of the eu budget. it seems it is going their way but we are still not there yet and the expectation now is that they are going to break up and maybe in an hourand are going to break up and maybe in an hour and have a good sleep and start again tomorrow morning. took me through what the frugal four are proposing and what some other southern states are counter proposing? the main sticking point

for the frugal four is the gifts, as they call it in this recovery fund. it is more subsidies that the countries will get for free, that is not really true because there are a lot of conditions attached. the frugal four want to bring the amount of the subsidies as low as possible. around 500 billion, that is already the proposal by the eu council president to get it done a little bit but this is not going down far enough. the countries want to put very strict conditions on this money, they really want the countries in the south, mainly, to deliver on reforms on the labour market, on the pension system, before this money is handed out. and another big sticking point is the rule of law as well, excited viewers exactly what that means. that is a very main point, also for a country like the netherlands, they want to build in conditionality that the

money disbursed is attached to a rule of law principle. countries like poland or hungary, when they slip down on democracy or on press freedom or on the judiciary system, the netherlands want to have the power to cut down on the subsidies. of course, poland and hungary don't wa nt of course, poland and hungary don't want these very strict conditions. so, they are using their veto right, because every country has a veto, to get down this point in their benefit. 0k, thank you very much indeed for explaining that all to us so indeed for explaining that all to us so clearly. here in the uk, the metropolitan police is being urged to formally apologise to a man who was detained while an officer appeared to kneel on his neck. marcus coutain was filmed shouting "get off my neck" as he was arrested in north london on thursday. his lawyer said the events mirrored what happened to george floyd, who died after being restrained in the us. greg mckenzie reports.

get off me! get off my neck. this is the video which has been viewed more than a million times since it was shared with the bbc on thursday. it appears to show an officer kneeling on the neck of 48—year—old marcus coutain as he was being arrested in islington. today, he was in court charged with possession of a knife in a public place. wearing greyjogging bottoms and a green t—shirt, marcus coutain appeared here at highbury court this afternoon. he only spoke to confirm his name, age and address before entering a plea of not guilty to a charge of possession of a bladed article. his lawyer says the events mirrored almost identically what happened to george floyd in america and has called for a formal apology from scotland yard. they had him handcuffed, he was on the ground and one officer, a white officer

placed his knee on his neck, he could not breathe, and his words were, "i've done nothing, i can't breathe." you know, please get your knee off my neck. the deputy commissioner of the met described the footage of the arrest as deeply disturbing and said some of the techniques used were not taught in police training, which caused him great concern. 0ne former member of the met echoed the concerns but said the police have a difficult role to play. you can't place your knee on someone's make but in terms of maintaining somebody and restraining then, you have to try and use minimum force in order to do it but there, you have individuals who are not complying with the police so all of that has to be taken into account. chanting: i can't breathe! i can't breathe! in response to the incident, protesters held a demonstration this afternoon outside islington police station, calling for an end to police violence.

we need serious change, but more than that, there is a serious problem beyond a few individuals. the fact that this has happened again in the midst of a movement which is calling out exactly the sort of behaviour notjust from the police but the state, but actually these practices can carry on. marcus coutain will appear at snaresbrook crown court next month. the arrest has been referred to the independent police watchdog and an officer has been suspended. russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country has interfered in british politics, or tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. the veteran american civil rights leader and long—serving congressman, john lewis, has died at the age of eighty.

sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. good evening. we start with the fa cup semifinal. as holders manchester city take on 13 time winners arsenal. it's well into the second half at a deserted wembley1—0 to arsenal — a superb team goal finished by aubameyang gave arsenal the lead. winner will face manchester united or chelsea, who meet in the other semifinal tomorrow. in the premier league, norwich's miserable end to the season continued. the league's bottom club lost 2—0 to burnley, one of which was an own goal and they had two men sent off. it's nine successive league defeats for norwich while the win for burnley puts them up to ninth. position 20 on the league. we lost this game and finished this game, far away from accusing anyone of

something like this so you have to call this situation, yeah, i don't know, naive, inexperienced, stupid, not professional, all the words for it. definitely not acceptable. after securing promotion to the premier league on friday, leeds united were crowned champions of the english championship on saturday, thanks to another result going their way. but they weren't out immediately celebrating. instead leeds were back in training, ahead of a game against derby on sunday. but, maybe they could be forgiven for being in a celebratory mood. defender luke ayling filmed them as they chanted their manager's name as he arrived earlier. in italy's serie a, atalanta missed the chance to go second after a 1—1 draw against hellas verona. cagliari and sassuolo also drew 1—1 and in form milan are currently 2—0 up against bologna at the san siro. milan have performed well

since returning to action last month and are close to securing a european spot. rain prevented any play in manchester on saturday in the second test between england and west indies. and though england are on top, they'll only have tomorrow and monday to try to force a win. they did deal with some off—field matters. joffre archer was fined and given a warning for breaking coronavirus protocols between tests. 0ur reporter henry moeran is inside the bio bubble at old trafford. well, i think the narrative around this story has been very interesting, as we've learnt more about it. mr archer headed home to his flat in brighton, between two matches. the talk from english management is that he learned his mistake, it was an error and certainly he needs to be supported because he is in this hotel where i am staying as well and he cannot leave his room, it is a difficult time for him, no question about it

and the fact that he is determined that a fine and a written woman is what he will receive, questions are whether he will be selected for the test match that starts on friday. so, he has had something to do over the last few days, no cricket to watch out of his hotel window today. lewis hamilton beat teammate valtteri bottas to lead a mercedes 1—2 in qualifying for the hungarian grand prix. they are followed on the grid by both racing point cars. then come the ferraris, vettel fifth and charles leclerc in sixth. so, a 90th pole position for lewis hamilton and his seventh in hungary, and hamilton admitted himself — modestly — that this requires nothing short of "perfection." i'm thankful to everyone back home and the guys here that do such an amazing job, and felt he doesn't make it easy for me, it requires absolute perfection when it comes to doing laps and qualifying like that is one of the things i enjoy most.

and an update from wembley. and aubamayeng has just put arsenal 2—0 up against manchester city in the fa cup semifinal. that's all the sport for now. the number of global coronavirus cases has seen a record single—day increase. the world health organization says nearly 260 thousand new cases have been recorded in 2a hours, the highest ever daily increase. the biggest increases were from the united states, brazil, india and south africa, according to a who daily report. the number of deaths from covid—19 has also risen by 7,360, the largest 2a hour increase since early may. french police say a fire in nantes cathedral may have been started deliberately. investigators say the fire started in three different spots, which points to arson. it took around 100 firefighters to bring the blaze under control. it comes a little more than 12

months after the devastating fire at france's most famous cathredal, notre dame. reged ahmad has more. huge, bright orange and red flame seemed to engulf the middle of this ancient gothic building, as black smoke billows out from between the two towers. it took around 100 firefighters to get the blaze on the historic nantes cathedral under control, but not before it blew out the stained glass windows at the front and completely destroyed the grand organ inside. locals gathered anxiously outside to watch the firefighting effort. this cathedral dates back to the 15th century and took around 500 years to finish building, so it holds a special place in french culture. translation: it was like a nightmare. i wanted it to stop. it wasn't possible for the cathedral

again to be burning. we have seen paris, but we have also seen it here. translation: it was really incredible, it's something we never wanted to see, that we never wanted to experience. firefighters say the damage isn't as bad as initially feared, but french police believe the blaze was a result of three fires that started in the building and are investigating whether they were deliberately lit. translation: we have observed that the fire started in three spots and have opened an investigation for arson with regional judicial police. once the fire was out, the french prime minister toured the area to see the damage for himself. thanking firefighters for their efforts. translation: i would like to express to the people of nantes the solidarity of the nation after this dramatic event that has hit the beautiful city. it is time now for an investigation under

the supervision of a prosecutor. this cathedral has survived past disasters, from allied bombings in world war ii to a blaze in 1972, which destroyed the roof. the french government has promised to help repair the damage as quickly as possible and get the cathedral back to what it was. reged ahmed, bbc news. tens of thousands of russians have taken to the streets in the far eastern city of habaovsk to demand the release of the local governor. sergei furgal was arrested on murder charges and flown to moscow last week. protesters claim his arrest was politically motivated. from habarovsk, our correspondent steve rosenberg reports. they poured in from across the region. freedom, they chanted. and, send him home!

it was one of the largest protests this region has ever seen. seven time zones east of moscow, they have been taking full to the streets for a week now. and he is the reason why. sergei furgal is the local governor. we are all sergei furgal, he says. he is popular here. more popular, they say, than president putin. but last week he was arrested. 0fficers flew in from moscow, bundled him into a car and flew him back to the capital. he has been charged with involvement in murders dating back 15 years and that has sparked anger in khabarovsk. everybody understands that it is a political case, they have stolen our governor from us, so theyjust took him and everybody feels like we elected him, this was our choice and moscow took him. what is remarkable about these scenes is that in russia

unauthorised protests like this are normally broken up. but the police just stood and watched. the russian authorities clearly trying to avoid creating even more anger on the streets. and more resentment at moscow. such a public display of dissent is embarrassing for the kremlin. president putin likes to portray himself as the man who has given russian stability, but this protest is undermining that image. we did find one man in khabarovsk who is against the protests. the city's mayor. he is from the kremlin's party. translation: we have seen certain people going to the protests, shouting the same slogans, acting inappropriately. and they are being paid to do this. there is no evidence of that. all they want is for their

governor to be given a fair trial in khabarovsk, but the dangerfor the kremlin is that, if this continues, a local hero could become a national star. steve rosenberg, bbc news, khabarovsk. music venues and theatres in england will be allowed to open again from the beginning of august. but there are lingering questions about how safe it will be to sing in public. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito has more. the room is particle—free, super clean, filled with sensors. everyone is in medical scrubs, wearing masks. this is serious science. and what they are studying here... ..is singing. # happy birthday to you.# happy birthday. it just seems so innocent, doesn't it? but when there is so much uncertainty and anxiety about possible infection, we really need to know what's coming out of people's mouths.

at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, there were descriptions of clusters of covid in choirs around the world and, since that time, we've been looking for science to guide us as to whether that is the case or whether it was the other non—singing aspects of those meetings that caused the problems. and now with a number of scientists raising questions about possible transmission in the air through breath, this is vital research. we know that, when you speak, much the same as when you cough or sneeze, you generate a lot of very small particles. these are called aerosols. but you also generate some big droplets. so big droplets are around the diameter of a human hair and they settle out into gravity very quickly, within one to two metres, but the much smaller respirable particles can be airborne for minutes to hours. it has implications. we won't be seeing a mass singalong at the last night of the proms this year, butjust how many people can they safely have onstage? the current guidelines say singers

should be standing side to side with a three—metre gap, but that would mean the traditional chorus could stretch out of the royal albert hall, down to the natural history museum. and, for smaller venues, social distancing is going to make reopening very difficult. so while venues are being allowed to reopen in august, there are many questions about whether they can afford to and reassuring the public and performers aboutjust how safe it is to get back on stage. david sillito, bbc news. people given credit notes for cancelled package holidays due to the covid 19 pandemic, are being reassured by the government that they'll still be honoured, even if firms go bust. the announcement covers breaks booked by uk agents both at home and overseas disrupted between march the tenth and the end of september this year.

our business correspondent, katie prescott, has more. summer holidays, a distant dream for the hundreds of thousands of people who have seen them cancelled because of the pandemic. such as jennifer and john who were supposed to travel to las vegas to marry injune. like so many others, they are still waiting for a refund. we need that money to pay for the wedding that we have rearranged. so, we're just chasing them. we keep asking them, "please, will you refund us?" but they are saying there is a queue. £6,000 which is what ours cost is not a small amount of money to anybody, to normal people like this, especially my partner has been furloughed for three months. travelers who see their holidays cancelled should get a refund within14 days. given the sheer number of cancellations that have happened over the past few months, many travel companies have struggled to meet that, and so have instead been issuing credit refund notes for holidays at a later date. the concern is, though, if those companies go under,

travellers would lose both their money and their holiday. the government is changing this, pledging to underwrite all refund credit note issued between the 10th of march and the 30th of september this year, for atol—protected holidays cancelled because of covid—19. it gives consumers that confidence to accept these credit notes if they don't want to accept a refund. they can still take a refund if that is what they want. but it also gives companies the opportunity to encourage those customers to book with them in the future. but customers are advised to do their homework before accepting them over a cash refund. by accepting a refund credit note, you are locked in with that holiday company. when you come to rebook, you have to rebook with them. it means you can't shop around, you won't necessarily get the best price. we also know some tour operators have increased prices for 2021. so, you may end up having to use the refund credit note and paying a bit more as well. the government won't say how much

they expect the scheme to cost but as 12 travel firms have already gone under this year, the burden of paying for cancelled package holidays will fall on the taxpayer. katie prescott, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello,. we've stayed the raining northern england and wales, it will turn try and clear overnight as the rain moves south into southern england and east anglia and they will be heavy bursts developing through the night as well, still fringing into bouts of the midlands. a few showers in northern scotland but much of northern ireland, scotla nd but much of northern ireland, scotland and northern england and wales looking drier. cooler but my gear where we have the cloud and rain to the south, which lingers on into the morning, the cloud holding on into south—east england and east anglia, even into the afternoon, still the chance of patchy rain as the afternoon and is, in parts of

kent. elsewhere, plenty of sunshine on the way, showers dotted through scotland, they could be the heavy one. still breezy but not as breezy as it was today. as for the temperatures, reallyjust as it was today. as for the temperatures, really just in as it was today. as for the temperatures, reallyjust in the high teens where it has been so warm and muggy to the south, temperatures are down, the humidity is down, too. goodbye. hello, this is bbc news with me,. the headlines: russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country has interfered in british politics or tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. i do not believe in the story at all, there is no sense in it. councils in england now have new powers to close shops, cancel events and shut outdoor public spaces to manage outbreaks of the virus. the veteran american civil rights leader and long—serving