The freeman foundation. By judy and peter um kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers you. Thank you. Eliminate special treatment for hong kong. This is bbc news. The latest headlines for viewers in the u. K. And around the world. The u. K. Government announces changes for the scheme around furloughed workers affected by the coronavirus lockdown. Businesses have to pay ntributions. I believe it is right in the final phase of this eightmonth scheme to ask employers to contribute alongside the taxpayeroward the wagers wages of staff. Anchor following the death of unarmed black man george floyd in minneapolis, the Police Officer has been charged with murder and arrested. President trump attacks chinas policy over hong kong and says the u. S. Will no longer give Hong Kong Special treatment. The wait is over for some. Reunions in scotland for the first time in weeks. Anchor hallelujah, handels messiah gets an outing as thousands of choirs leave lockdown anchor hello, and welcome to our viewers in the u. K. And around the world. Two big stories on either side of the atlantic. In the u. K. The government confirmed it will pay 80 of wages of millions of workers well into the summer to protect those furloughed who were affected by the coronavirus lockdown. In minneapolis a former Police Officer who detained george floyd, and unarmed like man who later died, has been arrested. It follows another day of unrest in which a Police Station was set on fire and tear gas was used on protesters. Lets start with that announcement from the chancellor in the u. K. The scheme was to prevent mass redundancies needed to a as the economy reopens. Employers will have to contribute toward pensions. By september they will need to pay 10 of wages, rising to around 20 before the scheme runs out at the end of october. The Program Supports more than 8. 5 million workers. The chancellor also pledging to end support further 2. 5 million selfemployed who have grants through august. The estimated cost of both schemes stands in the region of 100 billion pounds. Reporter when the pubs do not open, neither do the brewers. The governments scheme has helped keep 8. 5 million workers on payrolls, untapped, effectively, including at wildcard breweries. Without generosity, some might go over the edge. It would not be fair to diminish. If you do not have clarity as to what is going on. If a bar is closed and there is no money coming in, how are you supposed to contribute to that scheme . That will mean lots of people out of work. Reporter a least those 8. 5 million workers will continue to get the bulk of their wages paid for by the taxpayer. In july this can be on a parttime basis, offering flexibility for country companies. The government will pay 80 of salary. In september the taxpayer contribution will go down to 70 , then 60 in october. But workers will ha to get 80 of their wages in total. Selfemployed workersill be available for a less generous grant, representing 70 of wages over three months, cap that 6500 pounds. 99. 7 slump of sales in april. These unprecedented schemes are heading toward 100 billion pounds of essential borrowed money. The chancellor says it is still valid. In aggregate the scheme is generous. Eight months is a lontime to have the support. If you look at the total employer contribution over that entire period, a typical employee average, the employer makes a 5 contribution. Reporter the opposition says it is taking risks with unemployment. Some sectors like hospitality could be locked down a long time. They will not have the cash flow to have employers paying ithe support staff. This could lead to potentially job losses. Reporter a delicate, threeway balancing act between controlling the pandemic, saving jobs and costs to the taxpayer. Its essential judgment today is to continue on spending generously, more than expected. That means a third of the workforce, 11 million wkers, will continue to have the bulk of their wages funded by the taxpayer for most of the year. Reporter it is the self employed like iona who are relieved about the announcement, but still concerned about the future. I am hoping we will be supported until august. I worry about my ability, especially after years of training, studying music. Reporter the treasuries says the selfemployed are already treated differently, being allowed to carry on working while receiving support. The spending will continue through the summer, but as the economy reopens, it must come to an emd end. Anchor derek chauvin, the former minneapolis Police Officer, charged with thirddegree murder. He is officer seen leaning on the neck of george flo he has been charged with third degree murder. We are in the process of continuing to reviewhe evidence. There may be subsequent charges later. A detailed complaint wl be made this afternoon. I did not want to wait any longer to share the news he is in custody and has been charged with murder. Anchor we spoke to dr. Cornell cornell and asked if the charges against officer chauvin will dampen the protests. Not really, i think the concerns cut deeper than that. It is not just a matter of a charge, they want to see accountability and a conviction. They want responsibility on behalf of those who are killing fellow citizens. These are deeper issues. Have some wonderful human beings in america, but the United States is a failed social experiment to the degree it comes to black people and poor people. The capitalist economy failed, theilitarized state fails. For 400 years now this failure has been unfolding, unraveling. Even though it has been sexed for successful for some, especially black and red, it is a failure. This is chronic. This is something we are talking about that has deep historic roots. I think Samuel Beckett is right. [inaudible] americas dealing with White Supremacy is trying to fail a little better. Accountability, a little better. Conviction, a little better. In the end, the White Supremacy cut so deep, the predatory capitalism cuts so deep, it is hard for decent americans who really hate White Supremacy. And they come in all colors. To have the power, the organization, to allow a fundamental transformation in the american empire. Anchor joining me from new york, rebecca cavanaugh, criminal defense attorney. Within the past hour or so it was announced derek chauvin, former minneapolis Police Officer, has been charged with thirddegree murder. What does that mean . Rebecca there are degrees of murder. He could have been charged with first or Second Degree and they chose third. Thirddegree murder is what we call depraved indifference murder, meaning it is not intentional murder. I think that is a real problem here, the problem being that what made this video so horrific was that you saw a Police Officer with his knee on mr. Floyds neck for 11 minutes. I do not know how many people watched the whole video. As disturbing as it is to see the Police Officer with his knee on mr. Floyds neck, not oy while he was saying he could not breathe, but at least four minutes after mr. Floyd was clearly unconscious, was the most disturbing part of it and evidence that what happened there was deliberate and calculated. To charge the Police Officer with murder that is not tentional is not going to be reassuring to a large number of people. If there was any satisfactory outcome that we could have expected today, this is not it. Anchor what do you make of the timing of this announcement . Rebecca they had to do something. People are fed up. These protests are a response to something much more than this one incident. There is a history of horrific Police Violence and brutaty toward lack people in this country. And obviously t protests have escalated when we see that completely inadequate response by the District Attorney and u. S. Attorneys yterday. They had to act quickly. They have shown at each juncture, they showed yesterday when they held the press conference, that their responses are so much less than what they need to do. I do not think anyone will feel that this was something that will quell any feeling of discontent. Anchor what do you make donald trump involvement or intervention . P tweeted earlier he would send in the national guard. He had a warning that when the looting starts the shooting starts. Rebecca that tweet as we know, this president tweets things that are incredibly incendiary and inappropriate. To tweet that in the context of this massive Police Violence, when he knows he has the audience he does, law enforcement, that could be interprete as nothing less than a message to law enforcement. It is no coincidence after he tweeted that we saw this Morning Police arrest a black c journalist on tv. I think a very clear message to the rest of the country that police are listening to the president. They may be sta police, local police, but ultimately, they are listening to what the president is saying to them. Anchor rebecca cavanagh, criminal defense attorney for new york state, thank you. Rebecca thank you for having me. Anchor in the past few minutes President Trump announced the u. S. Is terminating its relationship with the world health organization. In a short press conference at the white house, dominated by the relationship with china, he said he was beginning the process of eliminating special treatment for hong kong, in response to chinas plans to impose new rules in the territory. Pres. Trump the chinese governments move against hong kong is the latest in a series of measures diminishing the citys longstanding and proud status. This is a tragedy for the people of hong kong, the people of china and indeed the people of the world. China claims it is protecting national security, but the truth is that hong kong was secure and prosperous as a free society. Beijings decision reverses all of that. It extends the rea of chinas invasive apparatus into what was formerly a bastion of liberty. Chinas latest incursion, along with other recent developments that degradethe territorys freedoms makes clear hong kong is no longer sufficiently tonomous to warrant the special treatment we have afforded the territory since the handover. China has replaced its promised formula of one country, two systems with one country, one system. Therefore, i am directing my administration to begin the process of eliminating policy exemptions that give hong kong different and special treatment. My announcement today will affect the full range of agreements we have with hong kong, from our extradition treaty to our export controls, dual use technologies and more with few exceptions. We will revising the travel advisory for hong kong to reflect to the increased danger of surveillance and punishment by the Chinese State security apparatus. We will take action to revoke hong kongs preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of china. The United States will also take nessary steps to sanction prc and hong kong officials directly or indirectly involved in eroding hong kongs autonomy. And, if you take a look, absolutely smothering hong kongs freedom. Our actions will be strong. Our actions will be meaningful. More than two decades ago, on a rainy night in 1997, british soldiers lowered the union flag in chinese soldiers raised the chinese flag in hong kong. The people of hong kong felt simultaneously proud of their chinese heritage and their unique hong kong identity. The peoplef hong kong hope that in the years and decades to come, china would increasingly come to resemble i most radiant and dynamic city. The rest of the world was electrified by a sense of optimism that hong kong was a glimpse into chinas future, not that hong kong would grow into a reflection of chinas past. In every decision, i will continue to anchor President Trump there. Lets speak to our guest from the bbc chinese service. There has been International Outrage about this new law that is goi to come into play in hong kong. What do you make of President Trumps comments . Guest President Trump announced he would direct his administration to remove hon kongs special status. As we discussed the past few days, this will have a huge Economic Impact on hong kong as well as china. U. S. Business, as well. Hong kong will not be spared. It is important to know the opolitical impacts of President Trumps announcement will be even larger. We all know the u. S. China relations have been quite unstable the past few months during the Global Pandemic and trump today mentioned the wuhan virus, a term that has angered china repeatedly. Some say it might be racist. It is already a fragile relationship with beijing. We have seen many flashpoints between the two countries right now. I am sure the market will react. The world is trying to recover from the pandemic. The two largest economies are locked into this fight. An the u. S. U. K. Aid they would curtail the citys freedo they were told effectively to but out butt out. Does china care . They know what they do will rile many western countries. Had they just said, we will push ahead, this is our policy, come what may . Guest [inaudible] china is under International Pressure right now, but that is not different from what beijing has faced the past few months during hong kong protest. Earlier in the foreign ministrys press conference, the spokesperson announced if the u. S. Will impose sanctions on china regarding hong kong, beijing would take necessary measures to counter washingtons wrong acts, accuse the u. S. And u. K. And Foreign Countries of interfering. We know beijing has long considered Hong Kong Affairs [inaudible] even amid all this International Pressure, beijing is unlikely to budge. Anchor thank you very much for updating us. Lets take you live to houston in the United States. This is the hometown of george floyd, the unarmed blackan who was killed by a minneapolis Police Officer earlier this week. We have seen huge protests the past few days in minneapolis. Now this is happening in houston as well the past couple hours. Dek chauvin, one of four Police Officers fired after mr. Floyds death, inustody, charged with thirddegree murder. We know, having spoken with the u. S. Defense attorney in new york earlier, there may be some disquiet about that, given what we know about what happened in the 11 minutes of video which saderek chauvin leaning on the neck of george floyd, in which he repeatedly said he could not breathe, and whether or not this will allow him to take full blame when it comes to the court. We will take an eye on those pictures in uston for you. Hundreds of schools in south korea have closed due to a spike in Coronavirus Infections days after they reopened. 800 sites have gone back to online classes and authorities are asking businesses to allow flexible working. Laura bicker has been in seoul and sent this update. Laura health ficials in south korea are describing cluster outbreaks as a crisis situation. These outbreaks are in areas of high population, all linked to a distribution warehouse for one of the countrys biggest ecommerce firms. So far, over 90 people related to that warehouse outbreak have been confirmed as having coronavirus. There have also been secondary infections within the community. As ever, south korean ofcials are excellent at tracking, tracing and testing everyone in relation to the warehouse. But, this cropping up of outbreaks continue to happen. That is one of the reasons they are putting out this morning. So far they have urged people to stay indoors if they can this weekend. They are saying this is a critical juncture, if they are to stop secondary spread within the community. They wrote back they have rolled back restrictions. Public parks and museums have been closed. Businesses are being urged to work more flexible hours, so work from home is back. Schools, too, have had to close their doors. Around 800 schools have stayed closed, just days after the next phase of reopening. Next week they will continue with the phased reopening of schools, but this is the plea they are making. They are saying, continue with social distancing measures, continue to wear a mask, stay vigilant for the sake of your childrens education. Anchor we have all missed being with friends, families and colleagues the last few weeks, but the 2 Million People in the u. K. Who belong to choirs, have missed the experience of singing together. Thousands will join for a singalong of handels messiah. If i could ask everybody to stand up for me. What would handel have made of this . Hallelujah, hallelujah reporter it was marks idea, missing friends during lockdown, he suggested singing onlin music is more than just notes on a piece of paper. The feeling of singing with your friends, going to the same place to be together, the performance where you are doing it together with other people. This virus has taken that away. Reporter meet the choirmaster. He agreed to lead nightly rehearsals of the messiah. They expected a couple dozen to sign in, but soon, there were 3500. Reporter andrew and nora are twins. He is in berkshire, she is in yorkshire, but the choir means they can be together, despite lockdown. What is it like singing on your own with headphones on on t computer . It is a bit odd, but knowing that andrew is singing at the same time as me and 3500 other people makes it good. Reporter this has been a fantastic way of getting that togetherness and the fun you get from singing messiah. It is a plus in the middle of a very big minus. Reporter the selfisolation choir is so b