this is bbc world news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: protests in brazil against the president's handling of the pandemic, as the country passes half a million covid deaths. the us says it will continue nuclear talks with iran, following the election of the hardline cleric ebrahim raisi as president. thousands take part in a gay—pride rally in warsaw, despite a clampdown on lgbt rights in poland. president biden announces the death of his dog — a german shepherd called champ — calling him a constant, cherished companion. and, the defending european champions, portugal, are beaten in a six—goal

thriller in the euros. hello and welcome to the programme. we start in brazil where the number of deaths related to covid—19 has passed 500,000 — the second highest toll in the world. the virus continues to spread as presidentjair bolsonaro refuses to back measures such as social distancing. experts say the outbreak could worsen with slow vaccination rates and the beginning of winter. mark lobel reports. as covid deaths reach 500,000 here, the painful goodbyes continue. translation: the death rate has been much higher lately, - despite all the precautions. i lost members of my family. brazil's health minister tweeted the grim news of the 500,000 lives lost,

saying that he is working tirelessly to vaccinate all brazilians in the shortest time possible and to change this scenario that has plagued brazilfor over a year. but some blame the government for that, accusing them of initially letting the virus spread, to build up herd immunity, and for rejecting masks and social distancing, leading to visible anger at this unenviable milestone. translation: maybe this year will also be difficult, _ because we depend on the delivery of vaccines, which have been purchased very late. at these protests, replicated in dozens of cities across brazil, there's particular fury aimed at one man, brazil's president, jair bolsonaro, for his handling of

this health emergency. translation: the feeling here is one of indignation. | we can't stand it any more. the government is worse than the virus. translation: he took too long to buy the vaccine. - herd immunity won't do any good. the only immunity you can get is with the vaccine. there's no other way. i've lost many friends, almost lost a cousin. millions of people are orphans, fatherless, motherless and childless. reducing hospitalizations remains a challenge here, as in many parts of the world. with only 11% of the population fully vaccinated, and 29% having had their first dose and with winter on its way, brazil's covid fight remains fraught. mark lobel, bbc news. the united states says it will continue negotiations with iran over its nuclear programme after the election

of a hard—line cleric ebrahim raisi as iranian president. a state department spokesperson said it regretted that iranians were denied a free and fair election. the new president, won with a landslide, but voter turnout was the lowest ever, with many candidates barred from standing. this report from kasra naji of bbc persian. for many iranians, it's been a dark day. the hardline head of thejudiciary, ebrahim raisi, has won, in elections that offered no real choice for the electors and no serious challenges for him. the interior minister says he won just over 18 million votes, with the lowest turnout in 42 years, since the islamic revolution in 1979. a good number of iranians have been alienated from the political process, particularly the young, many of whom are tired

of living in fear. mr raisi is best known for his role in signing off on the execution of thousands of political prisoners in the 1980s. now, many iranians are dreading what might be in store for them. more restrictions on freedoms, tighter controls on social media, internet and the press, more than before, and fewer rights and jobs for women. translation: i want to say to others, be yourself. - don't be afraid, even if they put you in a police van, like me. tensions will continue in iran's relations with the west. iran may turn more towards china and russia, to bail it out of the current desperate economic mess. kasra naji, bbc news. earlier i spoke to professor abbas milani, director

of the iranian studies programme at stanford university. i asked him where he thought we were with the iran nuclear deal now. i think it's under way towards resolution. i think the iranian regime, in spite of its bombast, clearly needs to make a deal — wants to make a deal. the economy is on the verge of collapse and if they make a deal now, then they will have mr raisi hand—picked by mr khamenei as the next president, and reap the benefits of improved economic conditions, so i would be surprised if there isn't some kind of an agreement in the nearfuture. interesting. so politically, it is in their interests to get a deal this time? does that mean sanctions have worked, or the deal is too favourable to iran or a combination of both? i think the sanctions clearly worked in the sense that they weakened the regime — they brought the regime to a position where they have no choice but to negotiate. but the problem is that

the brunt of the pressure was borne by the iranian people and if now, in these new negotiations, the interest of the people is not taken into consideration, then the hardliners will have won and in the long run, i think it will be to the detriment of the us, the west, as well as iran. so a deal, i think, whether it is a wise thing to do or not, depends on the kind of deal that is made and the kind of insistence to the regime's regional shenanigans, as well as the human rights of the iranian people to be included in these negotiations. you mentioned human rights and interests of the iranian people — let's talk about them. this low turnout — does that mean actually they are not that enthusiastic about this potential new regime? i think clearly, they are not enthusiastic because if you look at how many people did not participate, if you look at how many people turned in blank ballots — about 5 million people — there is a large majority

of people who have said no to the status quo, and whether mr khamenei will hear this or not or whether he will double down on more oppression, more limits, and more of the same remains to be seen. if the past is any indication, he will double down on his policies that has gotten iran to this current moment of, i think, structural crisis. looking forward, where do you see this? some people have said we could see raisi as potentially in the top job in future? i think that is one of the enigmas of this election. this election was an election with a foretold, preordained result. what we don't know is whether mr raisi is being groomed to replace khamenei when he passes away or whether he is a foil to bring khamenei's son, mojtaba, who has been lurking

in the shadows and is a de facto head of the office for mr khamenei, to succeed him. that, to me, is the only unknown quantity about this election, but otherwise, the fact that mr raisi is the president, to me, doesn't really mean much in terms of foreign policy because foreign policy, nuclear policy, military policy, they have been the monopoly of mr khamenei. it is he, not rouhani or zarif or raisi, who calls the shots. let's get some of the day's other news. yemeni government sources say 50 people have been killed in fighting between their troops and houthi rebels around the northern city of marib. the sources said the government had lost 16 men, including six officers. marib is the government's last stronghold in the north of the country, and is also the gateway to important oilfields.

the head of the world health organization has congratulated the people of guinea after the country's latest outbreak of the ebola virus was declared over. the who chief said that a co—ordinated response, community engagement and the use of a vaccine meant that guinea had managed to control the disease. police in istanbul have arrested six women after a protest against turkey's withdrawalfrom a un convention designed to protect women. the convention commits governments to passing laws against domestic violence, marital rape and female genital mutilation. conservatives say it weakens the family and serves to promote same—sex relationships. six people have been left in a critical condition after a truck driver ploughed into cyclists taking part in a charity bike ride in arizona. police say the suspect fled the scene in show low and was pursued by officers, who later shot him. he's now in a critical,

but stable condition. tropical storm claudette has caused serious flooding in the us state of louisiana. warnings were in place along the gulf states as the storm approached but forecasters say it weakened as it moved towards louisiana. although its expected to increase in strength again as it heads to the carolinas on sunday. thousands of people waving rainbow flags have taken part in poland's biggest gay pride march, calling for an end to rising discrimination against the lgbt community. the equality parade was held in warsaw, despite coronavirus restrictions. critics of poland's conservative government have accused it of promoting homophobia. sara monetta has more. looking at the river of people flooding central warsaw on saturday, might be forgiven for thinking this is a country

where lgbt people live happy and safely. thousands marched and safely. thousands marched and danced, waving rainbow flags. but behind the loud and proud message of love hides a more painful reality. :'s : �*s conservative president andrzej duda has pledged to his catholic supporters that he will ban teaching of lgbt issues at schools.

nearly 100 regions and towns across the country have passed anti—gay resolutions. they call themselves lgbt free zones. verbal and physical attacks are just too common.— verbal and physical attacks are just too common. some people sa we just too common. some people say we know — just too common. some people say we know where _ just too common. some people say we know where you - just too common. some people say we know where you live - just too common. some people| say we know where you live and we're going to get you. it to your head sometimes and sometimes you think maybe i shouldn't come back home late. the liberal mayor of warsaw was onstage at the pride. he said he wanted to show that they will always stand together. the truth is, people here feel like they are second class citizens. politicians, they need to act now. you have to go through with the bill which is allowing us to have equal rights. for now, us to have equal rights. for now. though. _ us to have equal rights. for now, though, like - us to have equal rights. for now, though, like other parts of eastern europe, poland is

moving firmly in a conservative direction. sara monetta, abc news. —— bbc news. us presidents are well known for their canine companions who are seen bounding across the white house lawn. the 0bamas had bo the portuguese water dog — the bushes a scottish terrier called barney. donald trump wasn't keen. now the bidens are mourning the death of one of two family dogs — a german shepherd called champ, whojill biden said was a �*constant, cherished companion�*. i've been speaking to andrew hager, the historian—in—residence at the presidential pet museum in virginia. the bidens have been very upfront about how much they love their dogs and they've really kind of made the dogs a mascot, unofficially, of their administration, so this is really a sad day for everyone.

it is fascinating, isn't it, the kind of politics — without taking it, you know, kind of too highbrow — but the politics of projecting a certain image of a family and family life, and animals being part of that. and we've seen presidents throughout the years with their pets, as part of what they project to their country. oh, it's true. it's very humanising. it allows the people of the country to connect to the politician, and i think that's why you see so many candidates, when they're running for office, they bring their pets on the campaign trail, let people take selfies with their dogs. it's just a way of allowing the average person to have that sort of feeling that "this person is like me". yeah. and so, is itjust a recent thing or is there a long history of presidents having pets in the white house? the history of presidential pets goes all the way back to the beginning.

george washington liked to breed foxhounds for hunting. john adams, the first president to be actually in the white house, had two dogs, juno and satan — i don't know why his dog was named satan. lewis chuckles. this is something that has been ongoing. we have only had a few presidents with no pets, including president trump. president trump did not have any pets — that was a rarity. that's interesting that it is a rarity do not have them, isn't it? so what does it mean? what does it represent, these pets, usually dogs, i presume, in the white house, and going back such a long way? i think it is just the fact that americans are very dog—loving people. i've seen studies that as high as two—thirds of american homes have dogs and i think that, you know, it's a way to connect with the voters but it's also partially because our presidents come from our society and then, they'rejust common people — well, you know, to a certain extent like the rest of us — so if two—thirds of american homes have dogs, it makes sense that the majority of american presidents would also have dogs. this is bbc news. the headlines: protests have been taking place in brazil against the president's handling

of the pandemic as the country passes 500,000 covid deaths. the us says it will continue negotiating with iran to revive the international nuclear deal following the election of the hardline cleric ebrahim raisi as the next iranian president. the legendary indian athlete milkha singh has died at the age of 91. popularly known as the �*flying sikh�* because of how fast he ran, mr singh had a remarkable life, from being a refugee after the partition of india to being an olympic sprinter. from mumbai, the bbc�*s india correspondent yogita limaye reports. with each run, milkha singh pushed a newborn india to dream bigger. his own journey rooted in his nation�*s tragedy — his family was killed in religious violence, during the partition of british india in 19117.

he escaped on a train, hiding in the women�*s compartment. a refugee, an orphan and in 1958, at the commonwealth games in cardiff, a sprinter — seen here as he stunned record holders. commentator: and milkha singh! milkha singh of india! "i could feel the closest runner was right behind me, so i pushed as hard as i could. after that, the indian anthem played and 100,000 people in the uk stood up for it. i was told i had made india shine in the world," milkha singh said a few years ago. he narrowly lost out on an olympic medal. that he even reached the games was an unimaginable feat at the time. he�*s inspired generations of athletes. indian icon anju bobby george is one of them.

like, a real legend, a real motivating factor. you know, if you could — if he could hear you right now, what would you say to milkha? milkha, thank you very much for giving us — showing us the path to success. and india is really missing you and we respect and we salute all your victories. band plays last post. milkha singh was given state honours. india has lost so many to covid. today, a national hero. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. tributes to the legendary indian athlete milkha singh. japan is cancelling plans to open six live viewing areas in tokyo, where spectators could have watched the olympics next month.

the venues, three of them in parks, will now be used as vaccination centres. japan has yet to decide whether to allow spectators into stadiums. rallies have been held across the united states to commemoratejuneteenth, marking the freedom and empowerment of african—americans. its origin isjune19, 1865, marking the end of slavery in the us. murals were unveiled and in texas, a march was led by the grandmother ofjuneteenth, 94—year—old activist 0pal lee, who earlier this weekjoined presidentjoe biden as he officially established a national holiday for the occasion. meanwhile, juneteenth commemorations continued in new york. a large bust of george floyd — the black man murdered by police in minneapolis last year — was unveiled in brooklyn. his brother terrence was there for the occasion, urging those gathered to recognise they hold the power and to

celebrate freedom. george floyd became the face of a global movement for racial equality, his murder sparking a wave of demonstrations against racism and police brutality. cheetahs are to return to india more than half a century after they became extinct in the country. the first eight animals will be make the journey from south africa to an indian national park in november. the team of experts behind the plan says it�*s the first time that a large carnivore will be relocated from one continent to another for conservation. i spoke to the dean of the wildlife institute of india. i asked him if the ambitious plan will work. it�*s the first time that something like this has been attempted, a large carnivore being transported from one continent to another. i hope it will work, yes, why not? some people have been a bit critical, sceptical, saying actually there is just not enough room for the cheetahs to live properly in the area where you are proposing

to put them. no, we�*ve got sufficient space, we�*ve got good trade. cheetahs require large spaces and the parks that we have prepared for them in uttar pradesh, a wildlife sanctuary, a national park, is about 750 square kilometres, with a habitat patch of around 5000 square kilometres. i don�*t see why cheetahs will not be able to do well there. what is the plan for expansion, then? with it two are going on initially in the plan —— is it two are going in initially and is the plan is for them to breed naturally or introduce more or what is the plan? we hope to get about 35 to a0 individuals in the span of the next three years and you need a large genetic base and a good number of animals to start a reintroduction plan. and for that the south african nations are the best source of cheetah available today. ideally, it would have been a cheetah from iran but there is unfortunately only

30 or a0 individuals left in iran and it�*s not possible to source animals from there any more. so southern africa is the source of animals that is lucrative enough so that we have sufficient number of animals for a reintroduction programme. first step, the 12 animals we are going to get will be audio curs our from - namibia and south africa. i see, and just one last question — i�*m presuming there�*s not gonna too many humans too nearby. is this land completely cleared of anyone actually living there? so we�*ve got about 750 square kilometres, which is devoid of any human habitation. however, cheetahs are one of the most conducive animal to live nearby humans because there has not been a single attack on a human, so i think the conflict levels with a cheetah will be less. people in this area have been used to living with large carnivores, there have been tigers, historically even lions a century ago and leopards,

so cheetah are the most conducive animal to have in the neighbourhood but there are no people and 750 square kilometres. to euro 2020 now, and it�*s been a busy day with all the group f teams in action. hungary held the world champions france to a draw, while the defending european champions portugal were beaten by germany in a 6—goal thriller. joe lynskey has the action. this was euro 2020�*s heavyweight saturday. four previous winners, all with superstar players, and portugal have one man who thrives on this stage. commentator: and there is ronaldo! this is cristiano ronaldo�*s 12th goal at a euros. his first was 17 years ago. germany have started slow but in four first—half minutes, their tournament came to life.

through two own goals, suddenly, they led, and by the second half, they looked their old selves. with this 11—2 win in munich, hopes will rise that once again, germany are contenders. few gave hungary a chance against france, but in budapest, they have the noise behind them. goodness me — the world champions are behind! attila fiola�*s goal stirred 60,000 fans. it would�*ve been this euro�*s biggest shock, but france came back. comes to griezmann! 1-1! still, this is what a draw meant to hungary. they�*re group f�*s outsiders but they�*re still in it. it was also 1—1 between spain and poland. both sides�* euro hopes are in the balance. football has waited a year for days like today. joe lynskey, bbc news.

you can reach me on twitter. i�*m @lvaughanjones. hello. last sunday, we saw temperatures in the mid to high 20s. this sunday, some of you will be lucky to get into the mid teens, and that�*s after a spell of yet more rain overnight, clearing its way off into the north sea as we go through the day and then leaving a legacy of cloud and developing easterly breeze. so, into the morning, admittedly not too chilly at this stage and certainly across scotland, northern ireland, not as chilly as it was on saturday morning. but england and wales, lots of cloud around, outbreaks of rain and drizzle, some heavy bursts still towards the east of england in particular. that will gradually ease away. the rain and drizzle turns light and patchy and then a few showers will develop in across some southern counties of england and south wales. at the same time, after some sunny spells in scotland, northern ireland, we see cloud and showery rain, some of which will be heavy, pushing its way southwards and eastwards. a developing easterly breeze tomorrow across the eastern half of the country, and that is what is going

to limit the temperatures to just 1a or 15 degrees for some. but in some sunny spells — there will be some around the english channel — 20, 21. maybe up to similar sort of temperatures in south—west scotland and north—west england. through sunday night then, and those showers across scotland and also northern ireland will push their way a little bit further southwards. at the same time, another batch of rain works its way out of france, across the channel islands and towards southern counties of england. a cooler night to take us into the summer solstice across parts of scotland, northern ireland and northern england. where a high pressure is building in, it�*s the azores high, that same one we had the other week but it�*s to the north of us, bringing in cool air interacting with that rain we will see through the english channel. now, the big uncertainty is how far north this rain band gets. looks mainly across some southernmost counties but it could get into the midlands, maybe east anglia at times too. away from that, it should be a dry and bright day but with a northerly breeze. for this stage in latejune, it is going to be a cool one — temperatures for some only around 13—16 degrees. and what will follow will be a distinctly chilly night. we finish the summer solstice and go into a night

which could bring a touch of frost across some sheltered valleys in the grampians and also the highlands. single—figure temperatures, in fact, quite widely into tuesday morning. but tuesday compared to monday, much, much brighter, a lot more sunshine around. still that notable breeze down eastern coasts. that will ease through the day, so gradually becoming a little less chilly here and temperatures in one or two spots climbing back up to around 20 or 21 degrees. and then into the end of the week, it looks like a bit of a flip round. northern areas most likely to see some rain at times, southern areas that bit drier. bye for now.

this is bbc news, the headlines: thousands of people in cities across brazil have been protesting against the government of president jair bolsonaro, demanding that the covid vaccination programme be speeded up. it comes as brazil passes the mark of half a million covid deaths, with the country entering a third wave of the pandemic. the us says it will continue negotiating with iran to revive the international nuclear deal, following the election of the hardline cleric ebrahim raisi as the next iranian president. his victory following a tightly controlled election in which reformists were barred from standing. a gay pride rally has taken place in poland�*s capital warsaw, with thousands of people taking to the streets. the march took place despite a clampdown on lgbt rights in poland, where same sex marriage is illegal and the government backs conservative catholic teaching. now on bbc news, the week in parliament.