this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. unions representing doctors and nurses in the england express concerns about new guidelines allowing the reuse of personal protective equipment. amidst a global shortage — some hospitals in the uk warn they may run out of the equipment this weekend. it isa it is a real disappointment to us that the government has been unable, even after a month, to address this aggressively worsening shortage of ppe. president trump angers democrats — after tweeting in support of protests against stringent lockdown measures in three democrat—run us states. russia records nearly 5,000 new cases of coronavirus in the past 2a hours, its biggest daily increase

since the start of the outbreak. pakistan's president is chairing a meeting on whether friday prayers should be allowed to take place during the outbreak — with the holy month of ramadan starting next week. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments, both here and globally. unions representing doctors and nurses in the uk have expressed concerns about revised guidance that allows personal protective equipment to be re—used in some circumstances at hospitals in england. an official from the doctors‘ union — the bma — said the change could lead to some frontline staff deciding they're unable to treat

people with covid—19. it comes as the head of the organisation which represents national health service trusts has warned some hospitals could run out of the gowns used in intensive care units this weekend — amid a global shortage. in other developments, the world health organisation has questioned whether tests for covid—19 antibodies are effective. some countries hoped the tests would be a way to end lockdowns. president trump has defended a series of tweets encouraging protests against lockdown measures in minnesota, michigan and virginia, three states with democratic party governors. and doctors injapan are warning the country's medical system could collapse, amid a rising number of coronavirus cases. an increasing number of patients there are being turned away from hospitals. more on all those stories coming up, but first, here'sjohn mcmanus on the shortage

of protective equipment in england. in this workplace, the machinists are more used to making jackets designed to withstand the british weather, but now the staff at this barbour factory in south shields have turned their hands to personal protective equipment — ppe — vital to repel not rain, but the coronavirus. the company says it hopes to make around 23,000 gowns for nhs staff over a three—week period. other manufacturers havejoined in. but despite this, supplies of ppe in england — such as fully fluid—repellent gowns — will run out sometime this weekend, according to the head of nhs providers, chris hopson. he blames a global shortage, saying that gowns ordered weeks ago were just beginning to arrive now. in response, public health england has issued new guidelines, saying that some ppe can be reused if necessary until the new supplies

arrive, but that's provoked an angry response from health unions. unison has warned that some of its members may refuse to work if they feel unsafe and the bma is also unhappy. i don't think any health care worker should be expected to expose themselves to potential risks to their lives during the course of their work. it's a real disappointment to us that the government has been unable, even after a month, to address this progressively worsening shortage of ppe. the department of health says staff are working around the clock to solve the problem. given we have a global situation in which there is less ppe in the world than the world needs, obviously it's going to be a huge pressure point. meanwhile, the government says it has no plans to make people wear face masks in public, despite lobbying from the mayor of london, sadiq khan. the masks are compulsory in new york, as well as the czech republic and slovakia,

but the world health organization says that, apart from health workers, masks should only be worn by those who display the symptoms of covid—i9 or are caring for somebody who does. john mcmanus, bbc news. niall dickson is the chief executive of the nhs confederation, which represents a whole range of organisations that commission and provide care for the national health service. he says front line staff are still very concerned about the issue of the availability of protective equipment. i think there is going to be real anxiety in the health service over this weekend. we understand that there is some hope that we may be able to get through the next couple of days, there was certainly a huge amount of nervousness at the end of the week, as it were, that there might be shortages in the nhs. particularly around this question of gowns, which are used in places like intensive care, where there is a very high level of viral load and where people are doing

really quite a difficult procedures, where there is a risk of them getting in touch with droplets of the virus. but even if we are slightly better positioned as of this morning that we were, say, 48 or 72 hours ago, the reality is that we could still face the problem in a few days' time because the whole thing is working very much on a hand to mouth basis and certainly all of the members i have talked to have been talking about, well, we have got enough supplies until 11 o'clock tomorrow, we didn't quite get the numbers we thought we would get in, and i think that is reflected at the national level as well, that they are getting stuff that is being sent predominantly from china, which has started producing again, but they are not always getting the numbers are the types of things that they thought they were going to get, so i think it may ease by may, but that is not much comfort. i think that is a lot of concern among professional staff in the nhs over the next few

days, and the danger is that there is a further loss of confidence in what they are being provided with. in the last couple of minutes a statement from the department of health and social care. we are working round the clock to secure the equipment we need. new clinical advice has been issued today to make sure that if there are shortages in one area, front line staff know what ppe to wear instead to minimise risk. this has been reviewed. the statement goes on, by the health and safety executive and is in line with who and cdc guidance on ppe use in exceptional circumstances. and the final line, there is a 24—hour nhs run helpline for nhs and social care workers can call to report shortages in supply. it is crucial the

releva nt in supply. it is crucial the relevant guidance for protective equipment is followed closely. the world health organisation has questioned whether tests for covid i9 antibodies will be of any use. who officials said there was no evidence that having had the virus would guarantee immunity. some countries have planned widespread antibody testing, in the hope that people who are proven to have immunity would be able to return to work. council leaders in england have warned the government that they need urgent extra funding to tackle the challenges caused by the pandemic. the bbc has seen a letter from the local government association to the communities secretary, robertjenrick, warning that some local authorities may have to take "extreme cost—cutting" measures to avoid financial failure. a government scheme to release prisoners early to help jails in england and wales implement social distancing measures has been suspended — after six offenders were freed by mistake.

the prison service has blamed "human error" — and says it's tightening procedures. the programme is expected to resume next week. president trump has defended a series of tweets encouraging protests against lockdown measures in minnesota, michigan and virginia , three states with democratic party governors. at a white house briefing, mr trump said the measures imposed in some states had been too tough. he called for the three states to be "liberated". our north america correspondent david willis reports. testing for the coronavirus is seen as crucial to assessing the true nature of this crisis. it's a massive undertaking in a country of this size, and president trump believes the responsibility for carrying it out rests with individual states, not the federal government, which he oversees. in new york, the epicentre

of the virus here in america, the state's governor, andrew cuomo, has said he has neither the money nor the manpower to carry out widespread testing for the coronavirus, and he's not alone among state governors. he accused the president of passing the buck, but not the bucks — an accusation which prompted president trump to take to twitter to urge the democrat governor to spend more time doing and less time complaining. later, it fell to the vice president to assure reporters that there are sufficient resources to carry out widespread testing. our best scientists and health experts assess that states today have enough tests to implement the criteria of phase one if they choose to do so. horns blast. president trump has made little secret of his desire to reopen the american economy quickly ahead of elections later this year, and he appeared to lend his support

to protests over stay at home orders that have sprung up in several us states. protests in minnesota, michigan and virginia are thought to have been orchestrated by conservative groups that want to see the president re—elected. each has targeted democratic governors whose lockdowns the demonstrators want to see lifted. the president, in a series of tweets, called for all three of those states to be "liberated", as he put it, adding a call to his supporters in virginia to see what he called your great second amendment, which he said was under siege. the second amendment grants american citizens the right to bear arms. last week, virginia's governor ralph northam signed several gun control measures into law, a move prompted by the mass shooting at virginia beach last year in which 13 people died. the president denied suggestions that his tweets could foment dissent and undermine his calls

for national unity. he also denied suggestions that by defying social distancing guidelines, the demonstrators could add to the spread of the coronavirus. these are people expressing their views. i see where they are and i see the way they're working. they seem to be very responsible people to me. horns blast. the protests in michigan are said to have involved around 3,000 demonstrators, some of whom were armed. that state has seen more than a thousand new cases and more than 100 new deaths a day. and the state's governor said she hoped the president's tweets would not be seen as encouraging the protests. i totally respect people's right to dissent and to voice their disagreement with decisions i've made. i'll tell you this, every decision i've made has been centred around what's in the best interests of the public health of the people of michigan. instead of the big re—opening of the american economy that president trump

had hoped to see, his administration is putting a tentative toe in the water. the reopening of the world's largest economy will be slower and more cautious than many in his administration might have liked and quite possibly fraught with controversy. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. doctors injapan are warning the country's medical system could collapse amid a rising number of coronavirus cases. two medical associations said the extra burden caused by virus infections meant emergency rooms were refusing to treat some people, even those suffering from strokes and heart attacks. one patient in an ambulance with a fever was turned away by 80 medical facilities before finding a hospital in tokyo that would accept him. officials say on around 800 occasions this month alone, ambulances were turned away from at least five hospitals. the headlines on bbc news:

unions representing doctors and nurses in the uk express concerns about new guidelines allowing the reuse of personal protective equipment — some hospitals warn they could run out this weekend. president trump angers democrats — after tweeting in support of protests against stringent lockdown measures in three democrat—run us states. russia has recorded nearly 5,000 new cases of coronavirus in the past 2a hours, its biggest daily increase since the start of the outbreak. it comes as hospitals are said to be in danger of running out of space. the situation has led to president putin postponing the annual victory day celebrations, one of the most important days on the russian calendar. here's our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg. rarely has moscow felt so calm.

bells chime. so quiet. so empty. in lockdown, a city of 12 million people so peaceful. but not everywhere. on the edge of moscow, ambulances queue outside a hospital that's treating covid—i9. the crews had to wait more than nine hours to bring in their patients. just look at this line. it's a sign of a national emergency. at another facility, doctors are preparing for their shift in the coronavirus ward. with moscow the epicenter of the outbreak, the hospital is already overcapacity. but its head doctor is used to emergencies — he was a paramedic in chernobyl. translation: the pressure on us has increased.

we're getting around 150 new patients every day. we're not at breaking point yet, but we're getting close. when georgiy got sick with suspected coronavirus and was struggling to breathe, twice he called for an ambulance, but none came. the system was overloaded. translation: when i did get to hospital, it was like watching a conveyor belt — ambulances constantly coming and going, bringing in new patients. the strain on the system is close to catastrophic. i decided to go back home. most of the patients were sicker than me. this pandemic is putting an enormous strain on public health systems everywhere, including russia. officials here are warning that moscow could run out of hospital beds for coronavirus patients within two weeks. for the president, this epidemic is the biggest challenge he's faced. it's already forced vladimir putin to postpone the annual may 9th

victory day parade on red square. huge celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the end of world war two now on hold. and in moscow, the lockdown is tightening. to use a car or public transport, you now need a digital permit. the aim is to slow the spread of the virus by keeping more muscovites off the streets. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the queen has asked that there be no gun salutes to mark her birthday on tuesday — for what's believed to be the first time in her reign. buckingham palace had previously announced that there would be no trooping of the colour ceremony injune. there are no plans currently for any alternative marking of the queen's official birthday — as it's not felt to be appropriate in the current circumstances. the british government here has written to members of parliament

explaining why some flights are still arriving at uk airports. each day around 60 passenger flights land at heathrow. airlines have told the bbc that many are relatively empty and they insist that virtually everyone flying into heathrow now is travelling home. airlines are also converting more passenger aircraft to deliver medical supplies and other cargo. our transport correspondent tom burridge reports. most airports are largely standing still, but even now, some passenger planes are arriving. one in ten of the flights, which normally operates in and out of heathrow, are still running. airlines say the vast majority of people on board are simply heading home. nobody at the moment is taking a holiday so these flights are repatriation flights. we need to bring these people home. these people are stranded all over the world — barcelona, america, south america, asia — and airlines are working with the government right now every single day to get these people home.

kiran was stuck visiting family in india before flying home this week. there were checks at the airports in india. they asked for if we've got any symptoms of of covid—19. so we just had to say tickboxes. so yes or no, one says. do you have a cough? did you have a flu? that kind of thing. and then you go inside the airport and then you've got their staff. they're doing temperature checks, checks like that's a not in place at heathrow. it must be confusing because you just assume that, you know, if one airport is doing it, the other airport will follow through with the same regulation and process. some people with covid—i9, don't have a temperature and some show no symptoms at all so the effectiveness of checks is questionable. the boss of heathrow has said airports around the world should now adopt the same standards.

american airlines told us their planes now have enough empty seats so that social distancing is always possible. and virgin atlantic revealed many of their commercial flights have only been about a quarter full. but the belly of most passenger planes is full of cargo, selling at a premium in these extraordinary times. companies running pure cargo flights are working like never before. it's really the only choice that there is at the current time to move anything that is time criticalfrom one region of the world to another, particularly if it's urgent medical equipment or supplies, medical supplies in from china. food in from kenya. airlines have taken a massive financial hit,

so they're now using passenger planes to generate revenue by transporting vital supplies. tom burridge, bbc news. pakistan's president is chairing a meeting with leading clerics to discuss whether friday prayers should be allowed to take place during the outbreak. they're also discussing the rules for the muslim holy month of ramadan which is due to begin next week. prayer groups of more than five people are currently banned, though some mosques are reportedly turning a blind eye. let's speak to iftikhar malik, professor of history at bath spa university. very tricky questions. what normally happens in terms of ramadan, and in terms of friday prayers, that is currently not happening because of social distancing?

i think because of fasting, people become more pious. go to the mosque and pray five times a and then there are special pairs late in the evening. and the whole book of the koran is recited by the cleric. sometimes people undo their fast in the evening together so there is lots of communal activity, lots of social activity and this is along with friday congregational prayers in the afternoon so religion is a big socialiser and that creates a lot of problems given the situation. soi lot of problems given the situation. so i think the pakistani government, based be president and prime minister are trying to reach out to these religious clerics from all persuasions, if they could sort of deter them from making people come to the mosques. as you said, yesterday at friday prayers, some masks defied that. one particular

mask, about 600 people turned up for congregational prayers i think the pakistani government is trying to dissuade these clerics by talking to them, not to let people come into them, not to let people come into the mosque. generally they say five oi’ the mosque. generally they say five or six people can come into the mosque and pray but ramadan is going to pose a great challenge. and what is the message coming from the religious leaders? surely they must understand the point of this, why why wouldn't they get behind that message? i think most pakistani clerics understand the critical nature of the situation. the clerics from saudi arabia with the holiest mosque is created, they gave a decree yesterday that people do not have to come to the mosque for fasting or even for their friday prayer. one of the oldest in the muslim world in cairo has, and i'm sure clerics in

iraq and iran are also saying that but you always get a few elements who want to assist with their communal activities so there is a worry that people may go to some of these masks and this could spread these masks and this could spread the virus. give us a sense of what is the spread of the virus and is that known given the difficulties of testing? one of the universities conducted a survey and 85% know about the virus and how it spread but how many of them are able to, you know, implement social distancing is very difficult. in india or bangladesh, people have to work, most of these people have to work, most of these people are on daily wages so the problem is economic. people have to go to the bazaars, to the markets,

they do unskilled labour so at one level, this is a very serious economic issue, and at another level this is a religious matter so i think you have to create a kind of balance but generally, i think pakistan is aware of what has been happening to the world at large. india and pakistan, i think we are not getting proper reports of how many people are suffering and how many people are suffering and how many people are suffering and how many people have been secured because the testing, like here, has not been universal. thank you so much forjoining us. breaking news in the uk. the death ofa breaking news in the uk. the death of a british transport police officer. this is coming from the chief constable of the british transport police. announcing the death of 53—year—old detective co nsta ble death of 53—year—old detective constablejohn death of 53—year—old detective constable john kirker who died death of 53—year—old detective constablejohn kirker who died last night in intensive care after being taken ill three weeks ago with symptoms. a married father of three

he'd worked with the british transport police for over ten years and worked in the cid department at euston. a death of a british transport police officer. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise. hello there. there is a bit of the north—south divide with our weather for the start of this weekend. the best of the weather so far has certainly been to the north of scotland. take a look at this beautiful weather watcher picture across the western isles. there is hardly a cloud in the sky. it is a different story across parts of surrey this morning. there was some heavy overnight rain and that is steadily sweeping its way north and east. it is pushing its way into the midlands and across to wales as we speak. it has brought over an inch of rain in one or two spots, welcome news for gardeners and growers, parts of england and wales have not seen rain for nearly four weeks.

so, that rain will continue to move its way slowly northwards, grinding to a halt in north wales and in parts of yorkshire, but for much of scotland, northern england and northern ireland it is blue skies and sunshine for the rest of the day. an easterly breeze will make it feel a bit cooler on exposed coasts, but if we get some breaks and some sunshine we may well see some higher values this afternoon of 15 degrees. through this evening and overnight, the rain will ease away, but we keep quite a lot of cloud across england and wales, one or two clear slots through scotland, low single figures here, but a relatively mild start to sunday. in fact, sunday is a fairly straightforward day. if we have cloud in the morning, that easterly breeze coming in off the north sea may well pleased that cloud back to the west, so there will be more sunshine coming through in the afternoon and temperatures will be a degree or so up on today's weather. highest values of nine to 18 degrees. now, high pressure is going to stay with us for the week, so there is a good deal of dry weather forecast. with winds coming round in a clockwise direction, the breeze will always come in off the north sea. it is a pretty cool source.

despite a lot of sunshine around on monday, that wind will be quite strong at times and will take the edge of the feel of things. it could be gusting in an excess of 30 to 35 mph in places. in a shelter, it may well be 20 degrees, but on exposed coasts it will feel noticeably cooler. not much change as we move into tuesday and wednesday. plenty of dry weather around, sheltered western areas seeing the best of the sunshine and the warmth. that's it — take care.

hello and welcome to dateline london. i'm carrie gracie. this week — a world divided by hope and fear as some countries tentatively emerge from the shadow of the pandemic and others fall under it. even where death tolls are coming down and lockdowns lifted, other sorrows are just beginning as we begin to absorb the scale of the economic damage. but death and destruction don't stop great power politics. the president of the united states announced a cut in funding to the world health organisation, accusing it of going soft on china. it my guests, on socially distanced screens — isabel hilton of china dialogue and stephanie baker of bloomberg news. and here in the studio, observing the two metre rule, the bbc‘s chief international