hello and welcome to the programme which brings together leading uk journalists with the foreign correspondents who file their stories for the folks with the dateline ‘london‘. that is normally what we do, but you don't need telling that these are not normal times, so for the next weeks we'll be bringing our guests together virtually. joining us today is annalisa piras, an italian writer and film maker. henry chu, europe editor for the the los angeles times. and here, sitting two metres away, the social distancing we're practising in the uk, is lyse doucet, the bbc‘s chief international correspondent. very good to have you with us.

however far or close you are, it is a lwa ys however far or close you are, it is always good to have you. however far or close you are, it is always good to have you. the uk government's mantra as it imposed restrictions to try to contain the covid—19 virus — "we're all in this together". the government was as good as its word. on friday, we learnt that borisjohnson, the prime minister, and his health secretary had been infected, and the chief medical officerfor england is isolating himself because he has the symptoms. that's three people leading the uk's response to pandemic. convention centres in london, birmingham and manchester are being converted into hospitals as the national health service attempts to deal with the most serious cases. on the same day, the uk announced the highest number of deaths, so far, in 2a hours at 759. the number of people dying from coronavirus is doubling every three to four days. over 100,000 people have tested positive.

let's talk about the implications of this in the uk. you are both forced as foreign correspondence to be here, to go through this crisis with us. here, to go through this crisis with us. what are your impression so far of how the uk is coping? yes, well, there is a bit of... about the choices that britain has taken in the early days of the outbreak. it looks like now things are going more in the same direction of the other countries. let's not forget that italy is two weeks ahead of britain in the spreading of the virus, so we have a clear sense that what is happening in britain is what happened in italy, so it is important that we compare notes in europe. there has been a bit of surprise that britain did not do

that, is doing it now, but that delay might have consequences. henry, one of the striking thing is, i suppose, is because of the news we got at the end of the week about the prime minister and others, is that it looks like some people have been sent do as i say, don't do what i do. it seems that some of the instructions have not been followed by those who are telling us what to do. when you had boris johnson a couple of weeks ago saying he was still happily shaking hands with politicians, but now coming down with the virus we now see perhaps the consequences of that. i am encouraged here in london when i look around and see deserted streets, that people are starting to follow the guidance that is being put out by officials such as chris whitty, whether seem to be spotty compliance before, people are now getting the message and realising that this phrase that none of us

knew even a month ago, flattening the curve, is so important. if you like that is happening. annalisa was referring to what happened in italy. to compare to what is happening in the united states, what is your observation? you are talking to people back a lot about the situation there. i wish i could say that the us was mounting a coordinated response, but because of out coordinated response, but because of our federal system and the administration, and unfortunately a president whose message has been all over the map about this, we have seen this quick responses in different parts of the country. los angeles has enacted a fairly stringent shelter in place directive, as has new york, which is i'iow directive, as has new york, which is now the epicentre. we are beginning to see that the virus is now moving into the centre of the country, the less populated areas in the middle. spots where i think the state officials have not been so

stringent. unfortunately, we have also had a case where the president himself has almost pitted states against one another, saying duke it out for the ventilators, whoever can bid the highest for them ought to go for them. and underplaying the real dangers they face in terms of lack of equipment. i think the us response has been spotty at best. when you compared the uk and italy, you made the point that you are a couple of weeks ahead and sue the uk should expect some of the things that italy have experienced. what lessons do you draw from the italian experience that would be worth applying in the uk? first and foremost, take seriously the instructions. don't think it will not happen to you because that is what happened in italy and we know that it was devastating, especially in lombardi, the epicentre of the outbreak because people at the beginning kept going out, they

didn't take it seriously. that is the first lesson. if we consider it a war, it is quite an extraordinary advantage for britain to be able to see two weeks ahead of what this enemy, this invisible killer, is doing. i would urge everybody to follow very, very close to what is happening in italy, try to make up your mind about what are the steps ahead and be alert and be informed all the time. stay—at—home and keep vigilant and just prepare yourself toa vigilant and just prepare yourself to a kind of wartime experience, but with a positive attitude because thatis with a positive attitude because that is also what we have seen in italy, which is so encouraging. at a certain point despair was replaced bya certain point despair was replaced by a sense of unity and collective

solidarity. this is what we need to see in britain, in my mind, we at italy. we sought on thursday night with that moment where at eight o'clock uk time people came out on their doorsteps and applauded those who were fighting the illness, in particular the health workers. real moments, that we have seen in italy and other european countries, where people he wanted to demonstrate solidarity in isolation. we do talk about moments now, when you are isolated at home, the clock ticks by very slowly. those moments matter, whether it was singing from the balconies in italy or in france are i'iow balconies in italy or in france are now in britain, it matters because we send a message that perhaps more than ever before we value those who are, to use the language of war, on the front line. also, it was so

palpable that we all needed it. people wanted to know that while they were inside their homes the whole street was together. their neighbourhood was together. the cities were together. the world was together. in a moment where we feel enveloped, overwhelmed even by this darkness, we need this light and it is of course in those pitch black moments when the light burns, it burned so brightly. it was a moment to cheer. everyone went inside their homes feeling better, and that is so important now, to hold onto the moments where we feel better. we will need to come up with a few more moments as the scratches —— crisis stretches for weeks and months ahead. we will talk more about the pandemic later in the programme. i wa nted pandemic later in the programme. i wanted to seize the opportunity to remind us that other things are happening in the world. maybe to get each of you to point out something

that you would like to draw attention to in the course of this. it is easy when we all chase this same story to forget that life goes on and other things and other problems exist in the world simultaneously. henry, let's kick up with you. is there a story that you think we have taken our eye off the ball in recent weeks as we become obsessed by coronavirus? there is, there was could say it was a nice one, but it is something else is presenting humanity with the brave grave challenge, that is climate change. particularly, the news that we gotjust in the last week change. particularly, the news that we got just in the last week that there was a catastrophic loss in the greenland ice sheet. we are talking about 600 billion tonnes of ice that have melted, broken away and because the seas to rise by two millimetres in the space ofjust two months. in the best of times, people are getting a little bit weary perhaps of hearing about these environmental

catastrophes, but this is quite a grave one and we need to meet that challenge and keep our sense that although we hope this pandemic would bea although we hope this pandemic would be a more short—term crisis, we have a long—term one bring before us. annalisa, what about you? what are still catching your attention whilst you are having to keep across all the developments of the coronavirus? i have been struck by something that is not really in the news, but i think she'd be, which is the possibility of change. in relation to climate change this is very releva nt, to climate change this is very relevant, just to follow up on the story of climate change. things are getting worse for climate change, but the coronavirus to join is that something with never happen never happen can happen, the possibility

of extraordinary change. this has happened because coronavirus faces us happened because coronavirus faces us with the most fundamental question that every government should face it, how do we protect citizens in a moment of life and death? we are seeing that when that choice, imminent death, imminent threat is posed to governments everybody knows that you need to act and change and take extraordinary measures. i think a good story that we should look at them really stop and think, is that we thought we couldn't stop cars, we thought we couldn't stop cars, we thought we couldn't stop cars, we thought we couldn't stop factories, but look at the financial times's satellite view over china and see how pollution has gone down overnight. yes, of course, this isn't something we can do forever, but change is possible. i think that we should really think that coronavirus is creating a watershed in what we thought could

be possible and were could not. we should think how do we use what we are understanding now to make real change in the climate crisis, in the austerity with the hospitals. we are saying that we can do things, so we should be positive about it. henry, do you want to pick up on that thought? could it may may be that we will change or wilful —— will we just revert back in relief to the world as we knew it? i agree that this is showing us another way. we are also demonstrating that human beings are extremely adaptable, which is good. i also feel like i have covered other stories were societies are thought to themselves we will never be the same after this, whether it was the riots here in britain ten years ago, and other events where the idea was that there was going to be a sea change in both

behaviour and outlook. i think that although human beings can adapt quickly, they also revert back to being creatures of routine. when you have an administration in the us thatis have an administration in the us that is talking about trying to get economic activity exactly back to where it was before if not better, china relaxing environmental supervision of factory so they can get back to industrial activity, that doesn't bode well, unfortunately, from my point of view for the future. is there a new story that you thinkjess hasn't popped into the headlines that you think maybe should have done, or maybe appeared briefly? so many stories are flickering but don't make enough ofa are flickering but don't make enough of a signal to penetrate the noise of this pandemic. one of them that caught my eye because i do cover conflicts around the world is an attack on a seek temple in cabo which killed 25 people of all ages

while they were worshipping. —— cabo. this was particularly dreadful as the world talks of possible peace talks between the taliban and the republic of afghanistan, this was perpetrated by islamic state. remember that one? we understood probably that threats across borders because threats are truly global. it took us back to the 9/11 moment when british, american and afghan leaders did their saying we will be with you for the long run, we will stand shoulder to shoulder. we were reminded ofa shoulder to shoulder. we were reminded of a really old war at a time when we are all confronting a new war. that profound sense that we don't learn from history, we don't ta ke don't learn from history, we don't take lessons to say we can live

differently and lived together with collective solutions. in new york this week, one of the striking things is the return of those drugs in which bodies will be placed because there is expected to be such a big demand because of the coronavirus outbreak, something we saw last on the street at the time of 9/11. globally, the world health organization says that covid—i9 has infected more than half a million people. the united states has more people. the united states has more people infected than any other country. it gave a striking statistic on the economic impact of the pandemic, 3 million people registered jobless in the space of just one week. henry, we have this more than $1 trillion aid package that the president signed into law on friday negotiated by congress. the scale of the economic damage potentially to the united states is enormous, isn't it? it looks like it

could indeed be disastrous. you mention the 3 million unemployed figure within a week applying for unemployment benefits. some economists are now predicting we could have 40 million people out of work by the end of april because of these restrictions being imposed on businesses, but rightfully so in order to stop the spread of this virus. the $2 trillion stimulus package is at least a start in recognising the government does have a role to play in terms of helping individuals get through the crisis. businesses, as well. a lot of money has been set aside to rest be very large businesses, including for example boeing, which has been deemed to be of national importance. the fear though is that because money is being given directly to americans who are in need, which is a good thing for their day—to—day expenses, employers are not having any incentive to keep their workers on the payroll, unlike what is happening here in the uk or denmark,

where the government has stepped in to guarantee portions of people's salaries as long as they are kept on the payroll, and that encourages businesses to keep their employees. that is not the approach the us has taken and it remains to be seen whether that will be a hindrance or not. has there been much sign of european solidarity in the way continental european countries have responded to the coronavirus outbreak? yes, there is and it is pa rt outbreak? yes, there is and it is part of the great positive news about this extraordinary tragedy. it is bringing back some fundamental questions and european solidarity is one of them. the virus doesn't stop one of them. the virus doesn't stop on borders. we have seen that overnight european countries have locked their borders. we know that this is not working. so it has become increasingly obvious to everybody that the continent has the

force and the energy to fight this warand it is force and the energy to fight this war and it is better if it works together. we saw at the beginning a bit of closure and nationalism creeping back, but very, very soon, the kind of fundamental solidarity mechanism at the foundation of the single market has kicked in. so we have seen special measures to keep the goods going through borders that we re the goods going through borders that were locked. we have seen extraordinary help coming from the european union, first to italy that was the first hit, but is not going to other countries. the european central bank has been supporting the euro extraordinarily, with extraordinary determination. we have seen that coming back of the very famous whatever it takes, the bank will do whatever it takes to support

europe. the governor of the central bank said that in 2012 when it was the height of the eurozone crisis and rescue. we have seen this coming back very strongly in the words of christine lagarde, saying almost the same message, the european central bank will do whatever is necessary for as long as it is necessary to support the eurozone. more than 1 billion euros have already been allocated. so, very, very quickly we see that solidarity and the awareness that united we stand and divided we fall is becoming obvious to most countries. there is still a bit of resistance to go for the real thing that everybody says we need right now which is of the form of eurobond, coronavirus bond, formal

notification that will help the eurozone be stronger. at the voices that are against that, that come from some extreme hardliners in germany and the netherlands, are becoming weaker and weaker because there is this sense that our building, or condominium is unfair and we need to call the farm. this is happening in the part of the world that is best resourced, best equipped, has the institutions and the networks to survive best that they pull together. spare a thought for the rest of the world. why hasn't there been a meeting of the united nations security council? why would the g7 united nations security council? why would the 67 net virtually were they not able to issue a common statement? because the united states insisted on calling at the wuhan virus. why are we fighting over words? no words matter, but unless the world pollster gather... the un

secretary—general launched a $2 billion appeal for those countries of the world. here we are sitting in britain with the nhs, for all of its imperfections and now deficiencies as we see imperfections and now deficiencies as we see in protective equipment, tests and so on, one of the best health systems in the world. spare a thought for afghanistan, spare a thought for afghanistan, spare a thought for afghanistan, spare a thought for yemen, which was already going through the worst humanitarian crisis in the world were less than half of the country's health facilities were functioning. there are global solutions but if countries produce and my country first attitude, we will all be last. i wonder before we finish at —— if i could ask you to address a thought for people watching, or for people trying to deal with this crisis, whether they are viewers or not. is there a message you would like to ta ke

there a message you would like to take away from what is happening at the moment? annalisa first. well, again, i would like to stress that sometimes in crisis there is an opportunity for change and in this crisis i think the role that citizens, civic society can play around the world is very important, because we will need to be informed properly from trustworthy sources and hold accountable our leaders. and too many places in the world we are seeing leaders trying to politicise the crisis, trying to score political points. we need really to come together across borders, compare notes, compare information and say we understand what is going on, so it is a transpacific society is to wake up and play a better role. please be informed, stay informed and lets kind of connect information across

borders. henry? for the many others who are in lockdown around the world, and that is a significant portion of the global population now, i think of the english phrase that we have killing with kindness, which is the opposite of what we need to think about. kindness is what will make us survive. an atmosphere where tempers can easily fray, suspicions can rise, i think we need to have the mutual kindness that will get us through as a society and as a world. i do have a message to those who are leading us on the charge against the coronavirus, and that isjust believe your own personal doctor and acce pt believe your own personal doctor and accept his or her advice for yourself, believe the doctors and the expert on this to tell us the best way to fight the coronavirus. it is not about faith it is about on the ground experience in science that will get us through.

the ground experience in science that will get us throughlj the ground experience in science that will get us through. i have long been a big believer that good can come out of bad, even though we do want the bad to happen. this has beena do want the bad to happen. this has been a consistent thread through all of our conversation today. in this darkness we are looking at our world and a new way. i was hearing on the radio this morning how people are looking out for their binmen, the garbage collector. they are looking at the traffic police, the person at the checkout counter. we are starting to appreciate the people who make our lives go round. you are the key workers? what are the essentialjobs? the key workers? what are the essential jobs? what value the key workers? what are the essentialjobs? what value do we place on those professions? there we re place on those professions? there were arguments place on those professions? there were arguments years place on those professions? there were arguments years ago about what junior doctors should be paid in britain, get now they are the ones keeping us all say. remember that poetic expression for many years ago that when a butterfly flaps its wings deep in the amazon forest of brazil it can cause a storm in texas? well the new version is when our backs in the wet market in we hand flaps its wings we file to all

around the world. for better or worse, around the world. for better or worse , we around the world. for better or worse, we are in this together. for better or worse, we will only get out of this together. thank you all very much forjoining us on this, the first of many unusual additions of dateline. i have only one message, one that used to be said by a lay presenter on british television after he told some terrible stories about crimes committed. please, don't have my words —— nightmares. we will be back at the same time next week. goodbye. hello, there. after a week in which

for some of you about like late spring at times, it will feel more this weekend like we will be closer to winter. to go with that, a lot more cloud than we have seen this week. it is the winter will be the noticeable feature, common all around from the arctic and greenland, it will be dropping temperatures uk wide through today and into tomorrow. one or two isolated showers on the breeze, maybe some rain in wales, north of england and the midlands. there could be some sleet and snow mixing in parts of scotland. still some sunshine for this afternoon, best in the south of england. if you add on the south of england. if you add on the wind, it will feel colder than these temperatures. tonight, the breeze will strengthen. whilst the temperatures will be up and down through the night, the overall theme will be many central and western areas, as well as scotland, will see

temperatures below freezing. the clocks go forward during the night tonight. the sunrise will be later tomorrow, as will the sunset. some longer even in daylight hours. there will be a little less sunshine round overall tomorrow, more cloud right from the start of the day. a greater chance of showers in east anglia and the south—east, but the cloud will break up here. winds could touch maybe 50 miles an hour in one or two spots. widely stronger winds than we have seen through today. even though temperatures may read at between seven and 10 celsius, it will feel substantially colder than that, particularly for england and is. into monday, after a chilly start, not as cold today. still the chance ofa not as cold today. still the chance of a few showers in england and wales. less cold air coming in.

still a fair bit of clwyd, some sunny spells and temperatures just into double figures. the area of high pressure will push its way further south and eastward next week. there will be some rain in the north, many places to drive with occasional breaks in the cloud.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. tests for front line nhs staff begin in england this weekend — 10 days after wales started theirs — following heavy criticism over a lack of testing for health workers. the three men spearheading the uk's fight against covid—19 self—isolate — two of them test postive for the virus and the third thinks he may have it. the english cities of birmingham and manchester join london with plans to open more temporary hospitals to help cope with the pandemic in the uk. japan warns against complacency — after a new virus hotspot emerges in its capital tokyo. translation: whilst it happens then the speed of the infection will be uncontrollable.