this is bbc news. i'm simon pusey with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. here in the uk, the queen will praise the country's self—discipline and quiet, good—humoured resolve in response to the crisis when she makes a rare television address later on sunday. lockdown under pressure: people in the uk are urged to stay at home amid another large rise in reported deaths. new york state records its biggest one—day jump in deaths so far — more than 3,500 people in the state have now died. spain and italy, the two countries which have suffered the highest numbers of deaths in the coronavirus pandemic, both report progress in tackling the outbreak.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. in a special broadcast later today, the queen will deliver a message to the uk and the commonwealth and acknowledge the great pain being suffered by many as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. in the address, the queen will also praise efforts of key workers and say that this generation will be judged as i. in the us, there have been over 300,000 cases and 8,000 deaths. new york accounts for over 3,500 fatalities. president trump has ordered 180 million face masks. in europe, the spanish prime minister said the country was "close to passing the peak". he's also extended the lockdown by another two weeks. and in italy, the number of new cases is stabilising. we'll have more on developments

across the world but first, we'll start with this report on the queen's broadcast from our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. recorded at windsor castle on thursday, the queen's broadcast will, according to officials, be deeply personal message that will reflect her experience in other difficult times. broadcast such as this by the queen are rare. they are reserved for moments of particular national significance. speaking about the situation facing the nation, the queen will say: she will pay tribute to all of those on the nhs frontline, to ca re those on the nhs frontline, to care workers and those carrying out essential roles and recognise the pain already felt

by many families, as well as thinking those following the government guidelines by staying at home. she will say: it isa it is a message intended both to reassure and to relieve the nation's resolve. it will be transmitted at eight o'clock tonight. nicholas witchell, bbc news. and the queen's speech will be broadcast on this channel today at 1900 gmt. for viewers in the uk, that's 8pm british standard time. here in the uk, we've been enjoying good weather but the government's message is to stay at home and not venture out in order to stop the spread of coronavirus. ministers say they're concerned young people in particular may not be taking social distancing measures seriously enough. so far, more than 4,300 people have lost their lives,

including a 5—year—old child. simon jones has more. the message to stay at home does not appear to be getting through to some. the sun was out on saturday but these pictures suggest, enrichment in london, so were the people, in numbers. in hove, the local council pleaded with visitors to stay away, saying social distancing would become impossible. we haven't got all day. this barbecue on the beach was soon put out by the police. the government says it is time for everyone to obey the rules. now i know that life under lockdown can be challenging. and some will be tempted on this sunny weekend to venture out and about. but if we relax oui’ out and about. but if we relax our rules, we increase the risk for others. that is why it is so for others. that is why it is so important to stay at home, to protect the nhs, and to save

lives. most did follow the advice, to only go out for exercise or to shop for essentials, and one exhausted nurse posted a video after a shift in the intensive care explaining what it is so important. we are desperately short of staff. the things i really difficult and we're really difficult and we're really struggling. so i am just saying to you all to stay in. if you stay in and you don't spread it and you don't catch it, but takes the pressure off of us because we're all on our knees at the moment, to be fair. the death of a five year old child with underlying health conditions is another reminder of the dangers the virus can pose. with more than 1 virus can pose. with more than i million cases of coronavirus now registered worldwide, the foreign office is extending its advice against travel abroad foran advice against travel abroad for an indefinite period. it has faced some criticism from britain's stranded abroad but it has not done enough to get them home. officials hearsay

from this week, efforts will be step up, working with 14 commercial airlines, step up, working with 14 commercialairlines, bringing people back from places like the philippines and india. this coronavirus— stricken cruise ship with around 200 britons on board has finally been allowed to dock in miami. for the passengers, a return home cannot come soon enough. simon jones, bbc news. president trump has warned americans to prepare for a big increase in the number of coronavirus deaths, saying the us faces the toughest two weeks of the pandemic. he's deploying 1,000 military medical staff to help combat the virus in new york city, which has the worst outbreak in the us. the state's governor andrew cuomo has warned that hospitals aren't prepared. freya cole reports. sirens wail. sirens fill the streets of queens, one of new york's worst—hit neighbourhoods. paramedics are in a constant rush to transfer sick patients from home to hospitals,

which are struggling to cope. new york governor andrew cuomo has warned the worst is yet to come. we are not yet at the apex. part of me would like to be at the apex and just, let's do it, but there's part of me that says it's good that we are not at the apex, because we are not ready for the apex, either. we are not yet ready for the high point. we're still working on the capacity of the system. the more time we have to improve the capacity of the system, the better. and the capacity of the healthcare system — beds, staff, equipment. 1,000 ventilators from china are due to arrive in new york this weekend. it will help significantly with statewide shortages. president trump has also ordered 1,000 troops to the city. among them will be military doctors and nurses. we will move heaven and earth to safeguard our great american citizens. we will continue to use every

power, every authority, every single resource we've got to keep our people healthy, safe, secure, and to get this thing over with. covid—19 has infected more than 113,000 across new york state. another 630 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours — another daily record. the total toll is now more than 3,500 people. a mass text message has been sent, calling for the attention of all healthcare workers to support facilities in need, if they can. and controversy surrounds the 1,000—bed hospital ship comfort, parked in the hudson river. it's on stand—by to care for non—virus patients but hospital leaders have called on authorities to open the ship to ease the strain on intensive care units which are overcrowded and overrun. freya cole, bbc news.

many of those military workers mentioned there will be sent to the various hotspots around the country. for more on these, i've been speaking to our north america correspondent peter bowes. the president, at his news conference, highlighted a number of these hotspots. it was a really sombre message from him as well, talking about a very deadly period ahead with a lot of deaths. mentioning, of course, new york city, which is still the epicentre in the united states. and we heard earlier the governor likening the spread of covid—19 to a wildfire. detroit in michigan is another hotspot, as is new orleans in louisiana. that's a very densely populated city. and that's a similarity between all of these hotspots and, of course, new orleans very popular with visitors, a high throughput of people, which i think in part accounts for the high number of cases there. we've heard the president talking about sending troops to some of these hotspots —

again, particularly new york city — and he also talked, on a slightly different theme, about wanting to get the country back to work again and he kept going back to that argument that people can't continue indefinitely to stay at home, that the country needs to get back to work. he talked about sports fans going to arenas again to follow their teams, to church congregations, being able to get together. and, remember, he mentioned there he once hopes that easter —— and, remember, he mentioned there he once hoped that easter would be the time when the country gets back to work. he isn't setting a specific date now, although he did entertain the idea that maybe people could go to church and sit outside because, he said, it was sad that people had to watch services on their computers. so the president is clearly frustrated by the situation, while at the same time acknowledging the importance of social distancing and the advice of his experts all around him, once again,

that people need to be very strict about their behaviour and stay at home unless they absolutely have to go out. peter bowes speaking to us a little earlier. hemal sampat is a doctor at massachusetts general hospital in boston. his unit has been completely transformed to deal with the crisis. he says numbers are on the rise. we are definitely in the middle of a surge right now. we saw our first case of covid—19 probably a couple of months ago, but it has really picked up in the last month and especially over the last week. our unit, the hospital medicine unit, we take care — we are very much the front line for the hospital in taking care of patients with covid—19 who are on the general medical floor who are not sick enough to be in the icu, and our service has essentially completely been devoted now to taking care of patients with covid—19. we have multiple floor units that have been converted almost

exclusively to take care of these patients. so you are very much on the front line. how worried are you about the capacity of your hospital to cope if the increase in levels of the virus cases continues to increase across the us? it is definitely a concern for the hospital. i will say our hospital leadership has been very much ahead of itself in preparing for any possibility, so we have contingency plan after contingency plan which, one by one, we are implementing. we are definitely seeing that search happening right now, and so there is... i don't think we have a concern we're not going to be able to handle it, but it will require absolute complete all use of our resources. and how worried are you and your colleagues for your own safety?

because obviously, you may have as much ppe as you need — and there is obviously a debate about that in america — but what is morale like when you go into hospital knowing that this is such a dangerous disease that you are fighting? it is definitely... there is a palpable tension among my colleagues. all of us do worry about our own safety. you know, there is a strong spirit of camaraderie — that sense of determination that we are in this together, this is what we are here to do, this is what ourjob is — but at the same time, it is not typical that we see a condition where our own personal safety is going to be at risk, and what makes it even more challenging is the nature of the disease itself. most diseases, when patients come in with them, we have a general sense when we see a patient of how that patient is generally going to do. we are, to some degree, are able to predict

what the disease course will be like. with covid—19, even though we know what some of the high risk factors are, for people to have worsening illness, we also see people who don't have risk factors who get very sick very quickly, and that is unnerving, and especially if it is people who are on the younger side, not far from our own ages. the spanish prime minister pedro sanchez has said that his country is close to passing the peak of infection from the coronavirus as the number of deaths fell again. spain recorded its lowest daily death toll from the virus for a week with 809 fatalities. the figure increases the spanish total to more than 11,000. mr sanchez has also asked the parliament to extend the current lockdown by another two weeks, until the 26th of april. the government is now trying to procure enough masks for the general population as part of plans to eventually ease the lockdown and allow people to go outside again. the number of new coronavirus cases in italy is stabilising and fewer people are being admitted to intensive care.

but authorities fear this could give people a false sense of security, with many now asking the government to relax the lockdown restrictions. italy's reported daily deaths have now fallen below the uk's. authorities say 681 people have died in the past 2a hours. jean mackenzie reports from rome. a slice of normal — a local market reopening for the first weekend since italy's lockdown began, albeit with some caveats. do you think this is safe? there are very few people, everything is under control, so it's ok. what difference does it make, having the market open again? ha! it seems like, you know, normal. but things are not normal.

italy might have reached the peak of its epidemic, with fewer deaths here in the last day than in the uk, but the country is still in strict lockdown. as the infections plateau and even start to decrease and the weather keeps improving, its going to be a real challenge for authorities to convince people to stay indoors and play the long game because the lockdown is working, they say. just look at the hospitals, where the number of people in intensive care has fallen for the first time since this crisis began. the situation, for the first time after weeks, is not worsening any more. we are still working 12—15 hours per day. they are serious, they are critically ill, but we can now cope with it. it is a relief. from a rooftop in rome, this serenade has become a nightly affair. people leave their homes to soak it in, just for a few minutes, while police look the other way.

the sound of hope returning. jean mackenzie, bbc news, rome. this is bbc news, our main headline this hour: here in the uk, the queen will praise the country's self—discipline, and quiet good—humoured resolve in response to the crisis, when she makes a rare television address later on sunday. countries around the world increasingly scramble to get their hands on orders for personal protective gear, among them n95 respirator masks. earlier, president trump announced that the us is ordering the production of 180 million masks amid a row with germany over the supply of the vital protective equipment. the battle is just one element of a growing controversy, with us manufacturer 3m at the centre. reged ahmad reports. these are some of the protective masks desperately sought after by governments and health systems around the world.

and orders are only increasing. in a sign of growing demand, the us has been accused of modern piracy by germany for intercepting 200,000 3m masks it had ordered and diverting them back to the us. both 3m and the white house deny the claims but 3m saying it doesn't even have a record of the order. but the german government website statement alludes to a new us policy it's blaming for the issue. that's because of a move by the us president donald trump to invoke new korean war era laws to demand us firms provide the country with more medical supplies. we need the masks. we do not want other people getting them,

that's why we are instituting a lot of defence production act... you could call it retaliation, because that is what it is. it is a retaliation. the us president said earlier he is using the emergency laws to take aim at 3m, a key supplier of masks in the us. there's been no act of piracy, it's the opposite. 3m has not treated our country well and if they do, great, and if they don't they're gonna have a hell of a price to pay. on saturday, the company pushed back against the new policy saying in a statement it had already gone above and beyond to manufacture as many n95 masks as possible for the us. it went on to address heavy criticism of profiteering saying we continue to act on reports of price gouging and unauthorised reselling. it's a row that's reverberating around the world as the n95 masks become like gold dust. 3m says it's also been asked to stop supplying canada and latin america, warning that the decision had significant humanitarian

implications. as desperate health systems run short and government starts to recommend the wearing of face masks, the global struggle to access protective equipment is set to increase with nation pit against nation in the hunt for dwindling supplies. reged ahmad, bbc news. as the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, the united states appears on track to be the world's worst affected country. the virus is affecting every area of us society including agriculture. rob larew, president of america's national farmers union, outlined how farming and agricultures is being affected by the virus. farmers, ranchers and farm workers are continuing to produce food every day. they're working hard. but the impacts are tremendous. so far, the losses are pretty staggering, and on top of that, of course, they are also concerned, share the concerns about their families and communities in this public health crisis.

yeah, obviously, at this time, people cooped up at home, there's not much to do but think about food and cooking food and eating food. what kind of support has the sector had? so, really the most disruptive thing that we've seen is just the food system in general shifted with all of the closures of restaurants and food services into homes, as you just mentioned, and all the snacks that folks are having. this is something that's really tough for farmers, the food processing sector, to shift very quickly. the impact this has had is that grocery stores have empty shelves at times, even though there's a large supply of product out there. and on the flip side, dairy farmers are now having to dump their milk at the farm level simply because the system is backed up and they cannot process all that. so the system itself is trying to adjust, and it will, but in the meantime, there will be a lot of hurt. the government so far has passed a package of assistance. we hope that assistance gets there very quickly.

but the hurt is real and it's going to continue for some time now. yeah, it's a difficult situation, isn't it? because obviously the farm workers themselves and the companies that are running these places need to think about the health and safety of their workers, while also seeing a higher demand for their products. yes, the work has to continue day in and day out on the farm, but in these rural communities in particular, the healthcare systems there are at a much greater need than they are in the suburban and urban areas. they have about half the number of doctors, fewer hospitals, and about a tenth of the medical specialists out there. so as the crisis reaches these rural areas, where the farms are, primarily, the pressures will continue even further. rob, for us viewers watching this, should anybody be worried about food reaching their stores? absolutely not. the food is there. the system is continuing to adjust to the dramatic shift that's happened. and we do expect that those shelves will be restocked very quickly. but it does take some time to do that, and certainly, the food remains safe. farmers and others selling direct fruits and vegetables

to consumers continue to employ very safe practices. so the food remains abundant and safe. the religious festivals of easter, ramadan and passover are all taking place in the coming days and weeks and it might seem unthinkable to mark the events without family gatherings and public ceremonies. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, has been speaking to religious leaders to find out how the faithful can get the most out of each holiday whilst observing coronavirus social distancing rules. jerusalem social distancing rules. is shut, like cities around jerusalem is shut, like cities around the world. although its holy sites should be at the heart of celebrations for the coming holidays. so i'm asking religious leaders here how people can worship safely. they

need to follow all the regulations of safety and to pray at home, especially as a family. and what do you say to your parishioners who are really worried at this time? we are celebrating the holy week, the resurrection of christ, which is a message in itself, a message of hope that the darkness will not last. cleaning is going on as usual as families prepared to remember thejewish as families prepared to remember the jewish exodus from egypt at passover. but they will be no big meals with distant relatives and friends. allan ina distant relatives and friends. allan in a certain sense, this is going back to the passover that we had originally in egypt because the way that scripture plays it out is that each person was in his own home when god took us from this bondage andi god took us from this bondage and i think all is being at home and awaiting redemption in a cell —— similar sense. the holy mother of ramadan will

also be more a steer but they say this will leave muslims to pray more and deepen their faith. it will be back to basics and it might be also a reminder to all of us that what we ta ke reminder to all of us that what we take for granted is not going to be always there. this contested city has seen many conflicts over the centuries, often between people of different religions, but now a common threat could be an opportunity. there is a certain willingness to put conflict on hold and collaborate during these difficult times and i would say why not? it shows us clearly that we are one big human family. this challenge is a challenge that affects everyone so a challenge that affects everyone so universally, so equally, that i think it is a real opportunity to unite. amid inevitable fears among a time of crisis, such sentiments offer a much—needed spark of hope. that is just about it

from us for now. you can get more on our website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @sipusey. stay tuned right here to bbc news. hello there. temperatures in some southern and eastern parts of the uk got up to 17 degrees on saturday. i think those temperatures will get even higher on sunday, into the low 20s for a few, with lots of sunshine around. it will be breezy, particularly in the west, where we'll also see some rain arriving later in the day, courtesy of this stripe of cloud here, a frontal system that'll be pushing its way in. but there is a big zone of clear skies heading in our direction, and also a plume of warm air. now, that warm air being brought to us on a southerly wind, a brisk southerly wind at that. the wind might touch gale force

across some western areas later in the day. so there will be a lot of blue sky and sunshine around. i think generally speaking there'll be increasing amounts of high, wispy clouds spreading in from the west, turning the sunshine a bit hazy into the afternoon, and also some thicker cloud that'll bring some outbreaks of patchy ran into northern ireland, perhaps the far west of wales, the far south—west of england and the far west of scotland as well by the end of the day. these are the wind gusts we're expecting. it's going to be a blustery day for all, but could see gusts of 50mph or more for some exposed spots in northern ireland and western scotland. but with those winds coming in from the south, yes, it will be warm. 21 degrees in london. even further north, in glasgow, highs of 18. high pollen levels, though, it's tree pollen at this time of year, across england and wales. the levels much lower for much of northern ireland and scotland. as we go through sunday night, we see these outbreaks of rain in the west, pushing eastwards. the rain will tend to fizzle for awhile. but it looks likely that into the early hours of monday morning, we'll see some slightly heavier rain pushing its way back into the south—east corner on what will be

a really mild night. temperatures holding in double digits for some of us. now, as we move into monday, this weather front still staggering its way eastwards. a pulse of heavier rain likely to be running along it, so we could see some pretty hefty downpours for a time across the south—east of england and east anglia on monday morning. that rain will then clear away. we see sunny skies behind, but a scattering of showers, chiefly across the north—west of the uk. still quite windy here, so those showers fairly blustery in nature. some could be heavy. and monday is a slightly cooler day with highs between 12 and 17 degrees. however, that does not last. temperatures are going to climb again as the week wears on, as we pick up a southerly wind. 21, 22 degrees is possible in the south. for most, dry. a bit of rain in the far north and west.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the queen will praise the country's self—discipline and quiet, good—humoured resolve in response to the crisis when she makes a rare television address later today. according to buckingham palace, the queen will personally thank frontline healthcare staff and other key workers for their efforts during the crisis. the government has urged people to stay at home as the death toll from coronavirus rose by 700 in one day, including a 5—year—old boy. there are indications that the spread of the infection in the uk is slowing because of

the lockdown restrictions. new york state has recorded 630 more deaths on saturday —