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. britain's death toll of nearly 13,000 fatalities doesn't include those who have passed away in care homes. anger has been growing at the government's apparent lack of action. now the government has promised a new testing regime for both residents and staff. school children up to 11 years old are returning to their classrooms in denmark as more european countries relax their lockdowns. in germany some schools would re—open from 4 may. the european union has been discussing how to coordinate strategy among member states for relaxing restrictions.

now on bbc news, our world follows two north koreans as they gain fame in front of the camera capitalising on their defector status yet struggle to move on from their past. there are 30,000 north korean defectors currently living in south korea. most have fled the brutal regime of kimjong—un in the hope of a better life. but many feel isolated in south korea.

now, some north koreans have found success in turning their defector status into a career. but will south korea everfeel like home? yu hyun—joo has been living in south korea since 2004 when she fled the north. she is on her way to the set of one of the country's

most popular tv shows. now on my way to meet you is a weekly show all about north korea. hyun—joo has been a guest on the show since it first launched in 2011.

each week, guests tell stories about life in north korea... singing ..and sing traditional north korean songs. singing

hyun—joo had a relatively good life in north korea. her mum was a canteen manager in a local factory. at the age of 29, she decided to leave north korea.

hyun—joo paid a broker to take her from north korea to beijing, and then to hanoi. from there, she got a flight to south korea. kang nara is one of the biggest north korean youtube stars. she was still at school when she decided to flee the regime.

nara lives in a tiny apartment in seoul with her mother and stepfather.

herfather and brother don't want to defect. according to the unification ministry, defectors on average earn a third less than south koreans. there's a big appetite for north korean stories here. hyun—joo has used the skills she learned in the north to earn herself a big stage in south korea.

singing

over the years, hyun—joo saved enough to pay a broker to bring her mum to south korea.

unlike south korean teenagers, when nara arrived here five years ago, she didn't even know what social media was. she's now got 50,000 followers on instagram and 90,000 subscribers on youtube.

nara also hosts youtube shows for broadcasters, responding to endless questions about the lives of north koreans.

it's yu hyun—joo‘s weekly recording of now on my way to meet you. but there's been days of preparation before recording the show. the programme makers say their aim is to reduce prejudice towards defectors.

but the show often reveals to hyun—joo how privileged her life was in north korea and how little she knows about her own country.

the show is popular among middle—aged and elderly south koreans. one group of loyal fans live in the closest village to the north korean border.

but the show has also been controversial. kang myong—do runs a north korean restaurant in seoul. he was a regular on the show for more than two years. he has now left.

but the programme makers say they go through various layers of fact—checking before putting out an episode.

nara has been in south korea for five years now. the social media persona she has created is based on her north korean heritage, but it's something she hopes she can eventually escape.

life as a north korean celebrity means travelling to wherever the bookings are. this evening, hyun—joo is at a local town hall three hours from the capital, seoul.

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 to 11 degrees, 11 degrees the high in 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 higher 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.

welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: president trump says the us is passing the peak of new coronavirus infections despite the number of deaths doubling in a week. the emerging crisis of the hidden pandemic deaths in care homes. the uk government pledges a new coronavirus testing regime. brazil's senior doctors warn their hospitals are unprepared, whilst the government and the president are in dispute over how best tohandle the crisis. back to school for danish children as more european countries relax their lockdowns. and hejust keeps on going — the 99 year—old military veteran who's raising millions for medical staff on the front line.