for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm tim willcox. president trump halts us funding to the world health organization — over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. the reality is that the who failed to adequately obtain and fat and share information in a timely and transparent fashion. more than one in five deaths in england and wales is linked to coronavirus — as figures show 6,000 more people died than expected at the beginning of april. the international monetary fund warns the world is facing a recession far worse than the crisis of 2008. polling is underway in south korea's parliamentary election — the result is expected to be influenced by the government's handling

of the coronavirus crisis... and, coming up... why does covid—19 make some people much sicker than others? a new study in the uk is trying to find out. you were watching bbc news. let's start with some breaking news. within the past hour president trump has announced a suspension of funding of the world health organisation. mr trump alleged that the who had failed to show accountability in its response to the coronavirus outbreak. he went on to accuse the un health agency of having failed, earlier this year, to investigate reports from the chinese city of wuhan that conflicted with official accounts about the virus emerging there. this is what he had to say.

today i am instructing my administration to halt funding of the world health organisation while a review is conducted to assess the world health organisation's role in severely mishandling and covering up the spread of the coronavirus. one of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the who was its disastrous decision to oppose travel restrictions from china and other nations. they were very much opposed to what we did come out was not convinced and suspended travel from china saving untold numbers and thousands of thousands of people would have died, and thousands and comes more lives would have been saved, instead

look at the rest of the world and look at parts of europe. other nations and regions who followed who guidelines and ke pt followed who guidelines and kept the borders open to china accelerated to the pandemic all around the world. our north america correspondent peter bowes joins me now from los angeles. not quite what president trump had to say back injanuary about the who, but several hundred million dollars here now being halted to that organisation. yes, between 400 and $500 million put on hold pending a further review. in the president's criticism was really damning of the world health organisation. again, focusing specifically on the criticism he says he received backin criticism he says he received back in january, the criticism he says he received back injanuary, the end of january where he opposed a travel bans of foreign nationals committed united states which he said was one of

his better decisions in terms of slowing the spread of coronavirus. and he was angry at the lack of support he had for that. he sets from the world health organisation, but he expanded his criticism going as far to say the outbreak could have been contained with very little death had it not been for the actions or inactions of the world health organisation. criticising the who for praising the actions of china in the early stages, the transparency of china back in january which is in fact something at the president himself also did back in january saying that they were working together. it is worth at that time were very positive. seems to have changed his tune a little bit on that. this does not come as a surprise, the president has been talking about this for the last few days and this will come as a major blow to the who because this is a lot of money

when you compare the amount of money the united states contributes to china for example which is some $40 million. it's worth pointing out, other countries in taipei like south korea and other countries have criticised the political influence that china has over the who and you can see that sometimes in the spokesman for the organisation, but the broader point here i thought was interesting. as far as president trump is concerned this crisis is almost over. he was talking about opening up america maybe in some states before may one. yes, more broadly talking about that. getting america working again the last two minutes, talking about sports teams playing again, he said he's tired of watching old baseball games on television. he's a very, very keen to get this country moving and there's been a dispute over the last 24 hours between the

president and state governors as to who has the authority to stop the stay—at—home orders. a lot of local officials saying quite simply it's the job of state governments to control law and order in terms of the decisions made to keep people away from their workplace. the president implying that he could override any decisions made locally to continue to extend those orders which he feels they should be ended a bit earlier. he has not said categorically that he is going to do that, he says he still talking and negotiating with state governments, but there's that implied threats that he could overrule. when you look at the damage to the us economy, the global economy because of this covid—i9 pandemic it's hard to forget that this is an election year.

yes, and before this happened, before any of us had heard of coronavirus and actually after that time well into january the president talking about was how of the economy was doing, the markets were doing well and most americans had a job, how things have changed since then and these are the very issues that usually decide elections. although it may be sometimes difficult to point the finger at him because he so politically motivated that he's thinking about his reelection chances, that clearly is what some people are thinking. the very sensitive area. thank you very sensitive area. thank you very much indeed. here in britain, the latest official evidence of the human cost of coronavirus shows a very sharp rise in the number of deaths per week throughout england and wales. it amounts to six thousand more than would be expected at this time of year. the figures relate to the week leading up to the 3rd april — since when the numbers have risen again. there's particular concern

about the situation in care homes and in the community at large, as our health editor hugh pym reports. my mum, she was my best friend, she was kind, funny... candice remembers her mother, ann, who died with covid—i9. she last saw her when she was in an ambulance on the way to hospital where she died 11 days ago. i'm never going to see my mum again and i'd rather not see the outside again. my mum was only 58 and it just wasn't her time. this is the worst pain in the world. i think it's just not worth it, it's just not — going outside and meeting up with your friends. a tragic loss and there are many others suffered by families every day, and now new statistics reveal there are more than we thought. until very recently, all the focus on coronavirus deaths has been on those in hospitals — that's where the daily data comes from. but the latest set of stats

shines some light on the spread of the virus in local communities and deaths there which might be directly or indirectly linked to covid—i9. weekly deaths in england and wales were at the highest since records began in 2005, according to the office for national statistics. in the week ending april 3rd, there were more than 16,300 deaths, that's around 6000 more than the average for this time of year. coronavirus cases contributed much of the jump, linked to nearly 3500. but it's not clear what's behind the rest, possibly some could be caused by people not seeking treatment for other conditions. it is possible that there are further deaths that relate to coronavirus that haven't been recorded as that. it is possible there are further deaths that relate to other conditions for which people perhaps have not accessed help in the way that they might have done in the past. the head of nhs england, after a big drop in a&e visits

last month, has urged patients not to stay away from if you're a parent and you're worried about your child, if you're concerned about maybe having a heart attack or a stroke, any other essential need, please come forward, access the nhs — our staff are here to look after you. sir simon, who revealed he himself had had coronavirus and self—isolated forjust over a week, was meeting student nurses and doctors who volunteered for front line work. is it a bit daunting when you think about it? yes, it is daunting. obviously i have family and friends that i care about. and my health too, as well. but... ..it‘s an important time for everyone, to be part of it. boosting testing of patients and nhs staff wanting to return to work is an urgent priority and the government set an ambitious target of 100,000 a day by the end of this month — up from about 15,000 now.

and the big pharmaceutical companies say they can help. we'll be fully operational at the end of the month, the beginning of may, and by then, i think that lab's going to be contributing around 30,000 of the target. we're delighted to participate, we've got many of our scientists who are very engaged in that and keen to support that aspect of solutions. but supplies of personal protective equipment are still tight and there has been an urgent appeal to businesses to produce whatever they can for front line staff, to help save lives for the carers, as well as the patients they look after. hugh pym, bbc news. the european commission is urging eu members to co—ordinate any plans to ease the lockdown measures — and to maintain rules on social distancing. the death rate in individual european countries has varied widely — with germany and austria experiencing fewer than 5 deaths per 100—thousand inhabitants, while italy and spain have seen more than 30 deaths per 100 thousand.

as the lockdown continues here — a limited number of shops and businesses are being allowed to reopen in italy, spain and austria. our rome correspondent mark lowen reports. a tiny step towards unlocking italy. camilla cocchi's baby shop reopening today after five weeks, as this country dips its toe back into normal life. a limited experiment to see how italians react, with new rules on hygiene and limiting numbers on site. we're really glad, really excited. of course, it's not normal times, so we are worried at the same time. but we have to work, we have bills to pay, we have rents to pay, we have wages to pay. leaving your business that you started, is like leaving your baby. customers too are adapting, welcoming a reward,

but with apprehension. i feel strange more for them, for the babies, for my children, but we have to be happy and somehow brave. "i'm really pleased", says eight—year—old elena, "because i haven't been out since the 4th of march. "i'm emotional." books and stationery shops too can reopen, but some regions think it's too early and have kept them shut. confidence will take some time to return here. italy found itself as the testing ground for the rest of the world for how to respond to this outbreak and how to lock down a country, and now, once again, it's an experiment of how to ease those restrictions. the hope here is that it doesn't become an example of reopening too soon and the virus spiking again. it is a risk that this country is taking. as are some others with far fewer deaths, like austria, opening gardening centres, diy shops and smaller stores from today.

for cafes a nd restau ra nts, though, it's a longer wait. spain too is cranking back up, construction and some factory workers restarting. the eu has warned its members that easing restrictions will lead to new cases. spain couldn't afford that, now having to turn a convention centre into a giant field hospital for europe's second worst outbreak. "but it's improving, patients are responding well", says this doctor. "today we are discharging eight of the 15 on our ward." it will, though, be a slow recovery and we must learn to live with this enemy. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. the international monetary fund has warned that the coronavirus pandemic has left the world facing the worst recession since the great depression nearly a century ago. it said the pandemic represented ' a crisis like no other‘, much worse than the financial crash a decade ago. here's the imf‘s chief economist. (sot next)

i'm afraid we cannot bring her to you at the moment. we will ta ke to you at the moment. we will take a short break. coming up after that. why does covid—19 make some people much sicker than others? a new study in the uk is trying to find out. there have been violent protests in indonesia