this is bbc news, welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe, i'm lewis vaughan jones, our top stories. a record single—day increase in coronavirus infections around the world. nearly 260,000 new cases are registered in 2a hours. russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country interfered in british politics, or tried to steal vaccine research. i don't believe in this story at all. there is no sense in it. us presidents from across the political divide pay tribute tojohn lewis, an iconic figure of the american civil rights movement. and, prosecutors believe a fire at the cathedral in the nantes may have been

started deliberately. hello. the number of global coronavirus cases has seen a record single—day increase. the world health organisation says it's the first time during the pandemic that the figure has surpassed a quarter of a million. while western europe and east asia have largely managed to contain covid—i9, the picture elsewhere is bleak. in brazil and the us where lockdown measures are patchy, there's little sign of the curve being flattened. and scientists say india, which has the world's third biggest outbreak, could be months away from reaching a peak. 0ur reporter, paul hawkins has the latest on the findings. in the us, 71,000 new daily cases. 41 states out of 50 are seeing rising numbers of confirmed cases, the biggest rises in southern and western states. so we're talking about places

like arizona, california, texas and florida. speaking of which, one startling fact from the week that'sjust gone in florida, they reported more new coronavirus cases in a 24—hour period than the entire european union, which is startling when you think 21 million people live in florida, a50 million people live in the european union. it seems to be that the way the country is fighting the virus appears to be highly politicised, as well. you're more likely to wear a mask if you're a democrat that if you're a republican. you've got the governor of georgia suing the mayor of the state capital, atlanta, over lockdown measures. so it's highly politicised, and then you've got president trump not ordering people to wear facemasks, deliberately contradicting the top infectious diseases experts in the states there. likewise, you've got president trump's political ally, brazilian president jair bolsonaro, total infections past 2 million and 16,000 new daily cases.

it took four months to reach a million cases and just less than a month to reach 2 million cases, so a fast increase there. the world health organization, though, does say infections have plateaued, and they're saying there's an opportunity there to bring the virus under control. 0k, well, let's move on. that's the us and brazil. let's take a look at india, look at that, 35,000 new daily cases. what's happening in india? yes, so scientists say the country could be months away from reaching a peak. the pandemic here was slow to start. they had a two—month lockdown to begin with, then they lifted it early on in the pandemic, then the number of cases started to soar. if there's one silver lining for india, it's that the death rate seems to be quite low. it's eighth in the world for overall deaths, but when you break that down per million, it's 14. but when you break that down per million, it's14.3, which is relatively low. and then finally, we mentioned south africa, 13,000 new daily cases.

the daily death toll there, it's headed past 4,000. they've reintroduced a national lockdown, a nighttime curfew, ban on sales of alcohol, and all south africans have to wear masks. so in south africa, they're going for the national lockdown, but in places like india, brazil, the us, it's still patchy, regional lockdowns. let's get some of the day's other news. the authorities in north—east spain have tightened restrictions in an area which was returned to lockdown a week ago. catalonia is registering more covid—19 cases than any other region of the country. the surge led to tough new measures being announced on friday. european union leaders are to extend negotiations on a covid—19 recovery plan for their economies into a third day. they are struggling to reach a compromise between wealthier northern countries. a revised package under consideration was for a50 billion euros in grants. talks are due to resume on sunday.

the leaders of france, germany and italy have warned they're ready to consider imposing sanctions against countries who violate a un arms embargo on libya. in a joint statement they called for all sides to end what they describe as increasing interference in the libyan conflict. twitter has confirmed that hackers made use of tools that were supposed to have only been available to its own staff to carry off wednesday's cyber attack. the breach saw the accounts of barack 0bama, kanye west and bill gates among other celebrities used to tweet a bitcoin scam. the russian ambassador to the uk has said there is "no sense" to allegations that the kremlin attempted to steal covid—19 vaccine information. british intelligence services have said they are more than 95% certain that hackers targetting pharmaceutical companies were part of the russian state. here's our correspondent caroline hawley. it's an interview for

the andrew marr show tomorrow, and it follows accusations from britain, from the us and canada that russian spies, in particular a group of hackers called cozy bear, targeted scientists trying to develop a coronavirus vaccine. now, andrew marr asked bluntly if russia had been stealing british vaccine research. the ambassador‘s reply was, i don't think so. i don't believe in this story at all. it makes no sense. then, on russian interference in british politics, and we've got that long—awaited parliamentary report into that due to be released this week, again he denies this. he says russia doesn't see any point in interfering. and then andrew marr asks him about the poisoning of the former russian double agent sergei skriptal in salisbury. he claims russia doesn't know what happened, and this is what he told andrew marr. we do not see any point of interfering, because for us, whether it be conservative party or labour party at the head of this country, we will try to settle relations and to establish better relations with us over there,

either with this or with that. now, conservative party have won, and we are working on this relationship. i have to mention the commission which is studying the results, they have discovered several cyber attacks also proceeding from the territory of the united kingdom. we do not accuse the united kingdom of what is happening. well, now the russian ambassador also said that russia is prepared to turn a page with relations with the uk. but frankly, relations have now hit a new low, and it's pretty hard to see a page being turned in the current climate. 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—russian relations could improve. i'm not optimistic. 0ur relations with russia are as bad as they have ever been, they are much worse, and they we re they are much worse, and they were pretty bad when i was ambassador and they got steadily worse since in here

also, they have to say he has a point. we, the uk are a leading member of the international community, we are keen to play an active role on issues like syria and libya and ukraine and cyber warfare and on all of thoseissues cyber warfare and on all of those issues we can't play as effective a role as we would like to if we don't have some sort of dialogue with russia. so while they have behaved appallingly and international life, while all this espionage and interference in elections is almost certainly true and very damaging, nevertheless we need to build up a working relationship with them in a way that we don't have at the moment. president trump has followed other senior figures in the united states in paying tribute to the civil rights leader and democrat congressman, john lewis, who has died. he was 80 and had pancreatic cancer. mr lewis played a key role in the march on washington in 1963, which culminated in martin luther king's "i have a dream" speech. rajini vaidya nathan looks back at his life.

john lewis dedicated his life to fighting racism. singing. 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 non—violence. 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, well, what else can

you do to me? in 1963, john lewis was the youngest speaker at the march on washington where dr king delivered his famous "i have a dream" speech. looking out over that crowd, i saw hundreds and thousands of young people, fresh from the jails of the south, fresh from the struggle, the frontline, there. we were ready, we were prepared, to go back to the american south and fight the good fight. and so they did, two years later, marching for voting rights for african—americans. they walked 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. and it was barack 0bama who awarded him the presidential medal of freedom, america's highest civilian honour, when he was 70. 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. john lewis, who's died at the age of 80. and we will have more reflections on his legacy a little later in the programme. 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. the man 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, nothing, i can't breathe." you know, please get your knee off my neck. the deputy commissioner of the met described 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 senior officer from the met echoed the concerns but said the police have a difficult role to play. you can't place your knee on someone's neck 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 ta ken 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 from not just 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. this is bbc news, our main headlines: russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country a record single day increase in global coronavirus infections,

as nearly 260,000 new cases are recorded in 24 hours. russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country has interfered in british politics, or tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. more now on the death of civil rights icon john lewis. i've been speaking to to dr rashawn ray from the brookings institution. i mean, i think that the reaction has been widespread, notjust in the united states but across the world, and i think it highlights that john lewis was a revolutionary figure. and of course he has several quotes, but one of the ones that i always think about is when he says, "get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of america". and i think that's where we are in this moment, notjust in the united states, but around the world. and i think he's going to be a galvanising light, moving forward to november, to put the united states on a different course. that's so interesting that you quote those words, because we spoke on this programme a few weeks ago about the words of frederick

douglass, the abolitionist, of course, anti—slavery reformer, and the famous speech that he gave that still echoes through generations and echoes through time. you just quoted the words there. do you think the words ofjohn lewis will have a similar power? i think so. i mean he's had so many things that he said. i mean, on voting, for example, i mean, he said, "some of us gave a little blood for the right to participate in the democratic process." so, while some people are thinking about staying home for this 2020 election in the united states, john lewis's words i think will help people get to the polls, and not just get to the polls, but deal with voter suppression, deal with gerrymandering, which were issues that were central to whatjohn lewis was about. and interesting — let's move from his words, then, to his actions. this was fundamentally a brave, brave man. i mean, without a doubt. he had been arrested dozens of times.

i mean, he had been beaten. he helped to desegregate cities, nashville, tennessee, where he went to college. i'm from murfreesboro, tennessee, which is just a stone's throw away from nashville. he was also one of the original freedom riders. and part of that was he was beaten in bloody sunday, which became known as the movie selma, but it happened in selma, alabama on the pettus bridge. and that's something that we will never look back on. and i think when we think about john lewis, and the sacrifices he made, it's disrespectful to not vote, it's disrespectful to not use our voices to stand up. and then, of course, we know he was elected to congress in 1988, never looked back, ran opposed a lot of times, and there's something that he did that oftentimes people look over. one of his first bills that he presented was for a museum to highlight the experiences and history of black americans. that became the national museum for african—american history and culture that sits on the national mall,

just a few feet away from the washington monument. i mean, he was concerned with kids, he was concerned with what we do about criminaljustice reform, he was concerned with how we provide medical services for underserved communities. and he had a series of honours, from a navy ship, to the presidential medal of freedom, to over 50 honorary degrees. and this was a man that we should honour, and we should aim to hold up his legacy moving forward. yeah, an extraordinary list of accomplishments. i'm interested there, rashawn, you used him and his legacy and his life and what he stood for very much as a call to action right now — as in get out and vote. what do you think of the timing and the significance, if there is any, of his passing when we're right in the middle of this black lives matter movement? well, i would imagine on one hand that he's probably feeling some type of way up in heaven that he passed away while trump was in office. but i also think, just days beforejohn lewis passed away, ct vivian also passed away, who was a civil rights icon as well, who mlk said

was the greatest preacher that he had ever heard. and john lewis was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by president barack 0bama in 2011. ct vivian followed in 2013. so when i think about that legacy, moving forward, and the fact that one of the last images we had ofjohn lewis was him looking at black lives matter plaza, that led to the white house, i think that's a moment that we can all remember. and i think part of this isjohn lewis's words are very, very relevant in this era. when you see something that's not right, not fair, notjust, you have to speak up, you have to say something, you have to do something. when i think about my grandfather, serving in two wars, purple heart, bronze star, he taught me that from birth — that your silence is your acceptance. and we need allies and we need advocates. we need agitators. and part of this is the legacy ofjohn lewis to do what's right and to get into good trouble.

prosecutors in france believe a large fire inside nantes cathedral was started deliberately. stained glass windows and the grand organ were badly damaged. it took around 100 firefighters to bring the blaze under control. it comes a little more than 12 months after the devastating fire notre dame cathedral, as reged ahmad reports. i mean, i think that the reaction has been 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 in 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 regionaljudicial 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 the 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 ahmad, bbc news. a cuban dissident who pioneered spanish—language broadcasting in miami, martha flores, has died at the age of 92. she died hours after her final broadcast on friday. she had said she would like to be remembered as someone who fought for freedom in cuba until the end. ms flores arrived in the united states in 1959,

days after the triumph of the cuban revolution, led by fidel castro. she said she knew mr castro well from his university days, and realised straight away that cuba wouldn't have a bright future with him in charge. south africans gathered to mark mandela day on saturday, an event held annually to honour revolutionary leader, nelson mandela, on what would be his birthday. the event aims to encourage individuals to take action and inspire change. this year, hundreds of chefs gathered to prepare thousands of litres of soup for people in vulnerable communities, some saying it was a great opportunity to give back, in the same compassionate spirit of mandela himself. moving on now to a heartwarming story about a lonely and mistreated elephant. islamabad zoo is set to send its lone elephant, kaavan, to a cambodian sanctuary after a pakistan court ordered his freedom. kaavan was kept in chains at islamabad zoo and exhibited symptoms of mental illness.

the pachyderm became the subject of a high—profile rights campaign backed by music star cher. bbc‘s ishleen kaur has more. meatpacker signed's loneliest elephant. this is kaavan, a 36—year—old male who came to pakistan as a baby elephant from sri lanka. now he is set to move house again. in 2002, zookeepers said he was being temporarily chained due to increasingly violent behaviour. these zookeepers were later also accused of keeping him isolated and not providing proper shelter during hot summer proper shelter during hot summer months. in 2016, pakistan's wildlife foundation said kaavan showed signs of mental illness. in may this year, a court ordered that he be freed. and on saturday, it was decided he would retire to a wildlife sanctuary in

cambodia. translation: the maximum age of asian elephants are said to be 40—45. he is 36 yea rs are said to be 40—45. he is 36 years old, so he needs to be retired. if there is a better place where he can live the rest of his life around happily, in my opinion, that is the best decision for kaavan. 0ne the best decision for kaavan. one of kaavan‘s ‘s champions is the pop idol cher, who spent yea rs the pop idol cher, who spent years calling for his freedom. after the court's decision to order his release in may, she tweeted "this is one of the greatest moments of my life". the singer had taken kaavan‘s case in 2016 after she saw pictures of the element miserably in chains in a small enclosure. so far, kaavan‘s life has been one of turmoil, but the 25,000 acre sanctuary will at least mean a co mforta ble will at least mean a comfortable retirement for him. and remember, there is lots more on the website, of course. and you can also download the

bbc news app for your tablet or phone. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @lvaughanjones. hello. a weather front which first moved into scotland and northern ireland on thursday night is still bringing some cloud and rain across parts of southeast england in the day ahead. whereas elsewhere it's a fine sunday on the way. here's a weather front which has clearly been very slowly moving south across the uk. in fact, won't clear away from southeast england until tonight. so this is how things are shaping up first thing. another warm, muggy start to the south. any rain clearing away from wales, maybe still a bit towards parts of the midlands. certainly into east anglia and into southern england as the day starts. whereas elsewhere it's a fine and quite cool start to the day, but you get the sunshine. a few showers run in across scotland, mainly towards the north and west.

but for northern ireland, northern england, wales increasingly so into the midlands, gradually so into southwest england, there'll be some sunshine. but across much of east anglia and southeast england still cloud, even at this stage of the afternoon. still some patchy rain around for some of us here too. and for the most part temperatures just into the teens. quite a change where yesterday was so very warm and humid. quite a change at old trafford compared to saturday's washout. plenty of play with the sunshine in the day ahead. as we go on through sunday evening, still a bit of rain towards essex and kent. that will finally clear away, along with that weather front at last, keeping a few showers across parts of northwest scotland, as much of the uk will be dry going into monday morning, and cooler across the board. many of us will be into single figures as monday begins. with a ridge of high pressure building in for monday and for tuesday, for that matter, giving a lot of dry weather. not dry everywhere, because still around that ridge of high pressure there'll still be a few showers coming in, especially into scotland. but during monday there's a chance of catching a few running on through northern ireland and parts of northern england as well, whereas the bulk of england and wales will stay dry. another cool start to the day.

temperatures recover in some sunny spells, but we're still mainly talking temperatures into the high teens. just a few spots getting into the low 20s. so, most staying dry again on tuesday. by wednesday, we'll see a bit of rain into parts of northern ireland, especially scotland, whereas much of england and wales, bar the chance for a shower later in the week, will be staying dry.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the number of global coronavirus cases has seen a record single—day increase. the world health organisation says nearly 260,000 new cases have been recorded in 24 hours. in brazil and the us where lockdown measures have not been enforced strictly there's no sign of the curve being flattened. the russian ambassador to the uk has rejected allegations that his country's intelligence services interfered in british politics, or tried to steal vaccine research. the denial comes days before a report into allegations of wider russian interference in uk democracy is due to be published. us presidents and foreign leaders have joined the tributes to civil rights icon john lewis, who has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 80. lewis was one of the ‘big six‘ civil rights leaders, which included martin luther king jr.