this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm mike embley. the virus blame game. president trump says the us is passing the peak of new coronavirus infections. his plans to suspend funding for the world health organization were heavily criticised. the emerging crisis of the hidden pandemic deaths in care homes. the uk government pledges a new coronavirus testing regime. back to school for danish children as more european countries relax their lockdowns. and the impersonator in isolation whose impressions of new zealand's prime minister have entertained the world.

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. first: president trump has said the us has passed the peak of new coronavirus infections. at his daily briefing he claimed that this put american states in a strong position to re—open the economy. before we hearfrom mr trump, here's a quick look at some of the other developments around the world. in the uk, new government advice will allow close family members to say their final goodbyes to dying relatives. in denmark, there are some positive signs as primary schools are allowed to open again — and germany has announced plans to slowly ease some social distancing measures. but in the us, the number of deaths has risen past 30,000 — doubling in a week. yet president trump insisted the situation was improving and under control. the battle continues, but the data suggests that nationwide we have passed

the peak on new cases. hopefully that will continue and we will continue to make great progress. these encouraging developments have put us in a very strong position to finalise guidelines for states on reopening the country which we'll be announcing — we're going to be talking about that tomorrow. we'll be having a news conference tomorrow, sometime during the afternoon. we're going to be announcing guidelines and we'll be talking about various states and it's very exciting. the president of there, of course. let's speak to our north america correspondent david willis. i can't believe we have to ask this, but these are the times when, is what the president is saying true? it does appear to be. the health officials here are supporting the president in this regard. they are urging, of course, a lot more than is himself. he says the data is

showing that the united states is past the peak as far as the coronavirus is concerned stop he said that data was, as he put it, very encouraging and he will meet tomorrow, thursday, remotely at least, with the governors of some of the 50 states to consider reopening the united states. he said in some cases that will be before the trump administration's deadline of the first of may. but some are urging caution, as i mentioned, it's notjust the president's own health advisors stop he was in conference with business leaders and ceos today and, as has been reported, a lot of them also urged the president to err on the side of caution, saying as well that there should be a lot more virus testing undertaken here

in the us before a reopening of the american economy takes place. david, thank you very much for that stop and —— janet napolitano is the president of the university of california. she was also the secretary of homeland security under president 0bama, and the former governor of arizona. she joins us live from oakland, california. welcome. thank you very much time. nobody would expect you to bea time. nobody would expect you to be a fan of president trump, but as objectively as possible, what you think the current situation? welcome think it has certainly in the united states andi certainly in the united states and i do think that, hopefully, we have surmounted this latest peak, but i think we have to be looking forward. this virus is going to come in waves and we need to be cautious in a reopening of the economy. if we do it too aggressively and too quickly we could see a bounce back and yet another surge. to

be fairto back and yet another surge. to be fair to everyone trying to deal with this, including the president, it is an unprecedented situation. president, it is an unprecedented situationm president, it is an unprecedented situation. it is unprecedented situation. it is unprecedented and it is very complicated. i think shutting down the economy was much easier than reopening it. there are easier than reopening it. there a re lots of easier than reopening it. there are lots of westerns. and all of the states are not in the same position. so just of the states are not in the same position. sojust by the nature of how the united states is organised, there is undoubtedly going to have to be some regional variations. undoubtedly going to have to be some regionalvariations. yes, and there are real questions about who has the power to do what, between the states and the president, also in what the president wants to do with the who. well, there's no real question terms of the relationship of the states to the president. it is the governors of the states who have the actual authority to shut down or reopen facilities

within their borders. the president can provide guidance stop he can provide suggestions, and, of course, being the president that carries a certain amount of persuasive weight, but it is the governors of the united states who actually hold the power. there is an interesting question about whether the west coast of the us has dealt better with this, certainly differently, from the rest of the country. what do you make of that? welcome i think the west coast, and by that we mean the states of washington, 0regon, andy hughes state of california, certainly moved a bit more quickly than states in the east coast or in the midwest did. they have experienced, as a result of that, and perhaps some other fa ct that, and perhaps some other fact is, a lower incidence rate, a lower mortality experience. so i do think the

governors of the western states deserve some credit for that. do you give the president credit for doing as he says, repeatedly, for shutting off arrivals from china as early as he did was make certainly thousands of people came from china to the us before that and afterwards. i think the concern is, although time was bought, the time was not well used from then. 0h, the time was not well used from then. oh, i think the time was not well used from then. 0h, ithink that's the time was not well used from then. oh, i think that's right. i think the order about travel from china was necessary, given the nature of this pandemic. but as a country we basically wasted the six weeks after that and that six weeks was valuable time. we should have been filling up our stop files, our inventories, our necessary equipment. —— stockpiles. we should have been preparing our workforce. we should have been

doing so many things, including, by the way greatly expanding testing. and the lack of testing is still a major lack around the united states. in fact, it's a major lack in california and will be a major factor in how quickly california can open up again. quick question for you, with your current hat on a president of the university of california, there are a lot of eyes on the public research universities to light the way from here. right. so the university of california's ten campuses, it is a research powerhouse. we have currently over 300 projects under way on everything from testing and different testing modalities to research on treatments and conducting some of the first clinical trials in the united states in terms of new treatments. and then, of course, research into a possible vaccine. so the whole

spectrum of issues that are involved with solving the pandemic, we have very active research under way on. janet napolitano, thank you very much. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. the 620 has announced it's suspending debt payments owed by the world's poorest states for the rest of the year. seventy—seven countries are due to benefit from the agreement, which will temporarily delay up to $14 billion in payments. the us navy has accused iran of carrying out dangerous and provocative actions against several american ships operating in international waters in the gulf. it says 11 iranian vessels repeatedly harassed six us ships involved in military exercises, passing close to them at high speed. there's been no word yet from the iranian authorities. the mandate for the israeli opposition leader and parliamentary speaker, benny gantz, to form a government has expired. he had been trying to agree a national unity government with the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, but no

announcement has been made since the deadline passed at midnight local time. britain's death toll of nearly 13,000 fatalities doesn't include those who have passed away in care homes. and anger has been growing at the government's lack of action with charities warning the virus was "running wild" through the care sector. now the government has promised action including a new testing regime for both residents and staff. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. it was his lifetime ambition, and graham achieved it last november. co—piloting a plane, a gift from his family. at 77, he was still very active. he recently went to hospital with cancer. the family assumed graham would come back home, but he never returned, having contracted covid—i9. his grandson's wife emma, who herself now has coronavirus, spoke of their sadness and frustration. no—one was there to hold his hand, and it's not a way

you want to go. 0nly ten people can go to the funeral, and we have a big family, so we can't go. and he can't get the send—off he truly deserves. finding a way out of the coronavirus crisis will depend largely on a big increase in testing. ministers have called on academic and business laboratories to join a national effort to boost capacity. some big companies have said they will help out, but one business manager with laboratories told us how he felt that his offer hadn't been taken up. understandably frustrated, a little unhappy. i mean, it would be very easy to sit and enjoy the sunshine and wait until things open up again, but i feel like i have a duty to the country, and my team, to keep them busy, to do something worthwhile. the number of tests carried out each day hasn't gone up a lot, although there has been a bank holiday weekend. it stands atjust under 16,000. but that still a long way short

of the 100,000 a day target set by the government by the end of this month, just two weeks away. nhs workers have been told they have access to testing if they need it, including drive—through centres like this, allowing them to return to work quickly if they test negative. that will now apply to social ca re that will now apply to social care staff in measures announced today, including testing of care home residents and those returning from hospitals. we will now ensure that everybody who has symptoms gets tested, and the critical other change is that those leaving hospital will now be tested, and they will be put to isolation until those test results come through. how are you actually going to cover this large number of social care staff and nhs staff and hospital patients? how is it going to be achieved? so now we have testing available right across the nhs and social care for all those who need it. and i'm very pleased we've been able to expand capacity so that can happen.

and as we build capacity further, over this month and then beyond to that 100,000 a day target by the end of this month, we'll expand further. he also said that relatives should be allowed to visit loved ones who are seriously ill with coronavirus for final farewells. the peak of pressure on the nhs was expected about now, with a surge in covid—19 patients. health leaders say there are still critical care beds to spare and most hospitals appear to be coping, but the peak could last some time. we think we can say with increasing confidence that the nhs should be able to cope with this initial peak. the interesting thing, though, is there is now a load of new challenges the nhs faces, of which the very obvious one is if we are going to have this demand spread over a long period of time, how are we going to support our staff? and there was uplifting news when connie, aged 106, left

hospital in birmingham. she said she felt very lucky to have shaken off the virus. hugh pym, bbc news. much more to come for you on bbc news. including this. and hejust keeps on going — the 99—year—old military veteran who's raising millions for medical staff on the frontline. pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked, and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock, and as for her sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world—best time for years to come.

quite quietly, but quicker and quicker, she seemed just to slide away under the surface and disappear. this is bbc news — the latest headlines: president trump says the us is passing the peak of new coronavirus infections. earlier his plans to suspend funding for the world health 0rganisation were heavily criticised. the emerging crisis of the hidden pandemic deaths in care homes. the uk government pledges a new coronavirus testing regime. germany has announced the first easing of the measures imposed to contain the spread of covid—19. chancellor merkel said that some schools would re—open from may 4. the european union has been discussing how to co—ordinate strategy among member states for relaxing restrictions as our europe editor

katya adler reports from brussels. this three days into spain's partial lifting of its coronavirus lockdown and there's still a lot of confusion. police say people are unsure if they're allowed back to work or not. in fact, spain has only lifted restrictions for factory and construction workers — an attempt to kick—start this covid—19 battered economy. many are scared. translation: i feel bad, like i'm in danger, but what are you going to do? i need to provide for my family, i need to go back to work. spain's prime minister hit back at his critics today. he only made decisions after taking scientific advice, he said. applause. juggling economic, social and health risks is daunting for every

government in this pandemic. it's a big challenge for the eu too. remember its messy initial response to the crisis? today, brussels called for a co—ordinated exit strategy from lockdown measures, but only if... there is a significant decrease in the spread of the virus over a sustained period of time. sufficient health system capacity is needed. there needs to be a reserve and you need sufficient surveillance and monitoring capacity in the form of large—scale testing. with 27 different health care systems and 27 different economic priorities, the european commission admits that, in the end, each eu country will decide for itself when to lift restrictions. but it's worth noting that no—one here or in eu capitals is talking about getting back to normal — lifting lockdown altogether. this is a targeted, gradual lifting of the restrictions, which would be reintroduced again if there is another big

second wave of infection. today, the eu's biggest economy said shops in germany would start opening as of monday. schools as of the fourth of may. but angela merkel insisted... translation: this isn't a race, however well—intentioned. we have to understand we'll be living with this virus until we have the medication or a vaccine to deal with it. delighted to see friends, unaware of their parents' nervousness, danish children streamed back to primary and nursery school today. these are nail—biting moments for the eu as well. the lid is lifting on europe's lockdown, but no—one knows for how long. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. the pandemic has put huge pressure on healthcare systems around the world. doctors, hospitals and insurance companies are looking at not only containing and treating people in this

outbreak but trying to look ahead and prepare should anything similar happen again. dr emma miller is a senior lecturer at the college of medicine and public health at flinders university in adelaide and shejoins me now. thank you very much indeed for your time. how do you expect coronavirus, covid—19, to change the healthcare landscape. hopefully we're going to expect significant change in the future. when will —— when all the dust settles there is going to have to be a really ha rd look there is going to have to be a really hard look at how different health systems have managed the crisis and it's quite clear that there has been great in equity, notjust between countries but within countries and it's to be hoped that those sorts of things will be addressed in the future, just in case we have another out break which surely we will have in the future. it's to be hoped, but do you think they will be addressed? well, you know, if history is any guide, i'd have to say i'm a little

pessimistic but it really is our only hope for the future. there is no reason to believe that this won't happen again and possibly in the near future. we had lots of warnings about this happening up until now, nothing much has happened soi now, nothing much has happened so i guess there is no reason to be overly optimistic but hopefully, the scale of this disaster, especially on our economies, will be enough to get people at least considering what steps we might take in the future to reduce those inequities. there is a real hope, isn't there, that technology will change how we react and cope with such pandemics. can you give us pick civic examples of change there? i think digital help in particular is going to be much more broadly in use. in australia, as a response to this pandemic, we have introduced telehealth almost primary healthcare consultations and that has been

taken up with much gusto by gps and the general public but it does also bring into relief the problem of the digital divide so again, problem of the digital divide so again, another source of inequity in countries, between countries so it's still this basic matter of health equity that needs to be addressed. what lessons do you think can be learned from the way south korea say, singapore and china dealt with it? arm, i... there are... huge, vast differences between the day —— way governments work in different countries and the way healthcare services work. the positives about those systems is that there was a centralised authority that was able to quickly mobilise forces and make sure that things were done consistently and coherently throughout the state. but you could argue that there are, you

know, some significant sort of questions about human rights and breaches of privacy that occurred in those states as well. also, there is a great level of trust compared to other countries in authority in those particular countries that make that sort of system work a little bit better so it might not be easily transcribed to the more sceptical countries around populations around the world. sounds like you will be back for this one. we will leave it there for now. thank you very much. when comedian melanie bracewell found herself facing weeks of self—isolation as new zealand went into a coronavirus lockdown, she decided to make videos of herself doing impressions of the country's prime minister. her clips on tiktok have now been watched by thousands across the world, and garnered her many fans — including ms ardern herself. take a look.

melanie bracewell. a reminder of the events of a year ago in paris when the mediaeval cathedral of notre—dame, one of the world's most iconic buildings, was engulfed in flames. to mark the anniversary the cathedral's great bell was rung earlier. bell tolls. work on restoring the cathedral has been badly delayed. the bell was rung to thank all medical staff in france who are working to contain the coronavirus pandemic. much more you —— much for you on all the news, national and international on the bbc website. you can reach us on the bbc website. you can reach us on twitter. i am @bbcmikeembley. thank you for watching, do come again.

hello there. yesterday was a warmer kind of day. again, plenty of sunshine for most of us, withjust a little bit of high cloud crossing the skies. we had some rather dramatic skylines, for example, in the shropshire area. now, it was the north—east of the uk that had the day's highest temperatures. durham and parts of aberdeenshire seeing highs of 21 degrees, but look at this drop in temperatures on the way through thursday. for some, it's going to be around 10 or 11 degrees cooler. the cooler weather is arriving with a cold front. it's this stripe of cloud that's sinking its way southwards across scotland right now, leaving the clearest of the skies and the lowest temperatures further south across england and wales, where there could just be a few patches of frost in the countryside. for thursday, well, it gets a little warmer across england and wales, but across the far north of scotland

and increasingly into eastern scotland and north—east england, we've got the colder air setting its way in. now, into the afternoon, we may well see a few brighter spells for 0rkney and shetland, but otherwise for much of scotland, it's a cloudy day. the cloud could be thick enough for an occasional spot of rain. not amounting to too much, mind you. for most, it will stay just about dry. it's going to feel a lot colder, though. temperatures 9—11 degrees, 11 degrees the high and durham rather than the 21 we had on wednesday. further southward across england and wales, again most areas will have lots of dry weather and sunshine. there'll be a little bit more in the way of high cloud moving in, and, yes, we could see just a few isolated showers across south—west england, southern wales, but even here the majority will probably stay dry. a little warmer, temperatures into the low 20s more widely. for friday, an area of low pressure that's been affecting spain and portugal wobbles a little

bit close to our shores, and it looks increasingly likely that we'll see some rain arriving. although the amount of rain you see from place to place across parts of england and wales is going to vary significantly. still mild, but those temperatures are falling back a little bit. highs of 17 in london, the cold air in scotland tending to seep down some of these eastern areas of england, knocking the temperatures back in norwich to just 12 degrees. now, the weekend, scotland stays fine and dry throughout, but it looks like we could see a little bit of patchy rain still left over across parts of england, wales and maybe northern ireland on saturday. sunday, for all of us, looks like the driest day of the weekend. that's your latest weather.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump says the us is passing the peak of new coronavirus infections, and that many parts of the country were in a strong position to re—open the economy. he's been at odds with state governors about the timing for easing restrictions. his plans to suspend funding for the world health organization have also been criticised. a lack of accurate figures about the deaths in uk care homes is emerging as one of the hidden issues when counting the true cost of the pandemic. a new testing regime is promised by the government. school children up to 11 years old are returning to their classrooms in denmark as more european countries relax their lockdowns. the european union has been discussing how to co—ordinate strategy among member states for relaxing restrictions.