this is bbc news, i'm simon pusey. our top stories: officials confirm 50,000 people have now died in the united states. meanwhile, president trump attacks the media after he suggested using disinfectants in a treatment. i was asking a sarcastic and a very sarcastic question, to the reporters in the room, about disinfectant on the inside. but it does kill it and it would kill it on the hands. the uk government's new website for tests is swamped and shut down for hours as it's inundated by key workers. world leaders throw their weight behind a drive to develop new treatments for covid—19 and ensure that everyone gets access to them. and the rohingya refugees rescued after being stranded at sea for many weeks — virus fears meant they were

repeatedly turned away from shore. 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: the death toll in the united states from the coronavirus pandemic is now double the second worst—hit country, italy. more than 50,000 have died, according to johns hopkins university. around 16,000 of those deaths have happened in the state of new york. the world health organization has launched a global initiative to find ways of preventing and curing the new coronavirus. the united states has declined to participate. it comes as a surreal debate has been brewing in washington, with the president claiming he was being "sarcastic" when he suggested injecting

disinfectants may be a way to fight the disease. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, reports. co ntroversially, some of florida's beaches reopened last week. but maybe it was a smart thing to do. according to new research conducted by us government scientists, sunlight, heat and humidity dramatically reduce the life of coronavirus in the air and on hard surfaces. the scientists said it acted as a powerful disinfectant. and that led the president to muse on whether disinfectant could be used inside the human body to kill the virus. and then i see the disinfectant, that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. and is there a way we can do something like that? by injection, inside, or almost a cleaning? because you see, it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. so it would be interesting to check that. the president's chief medical adviser looked as though she'd have liked harry potter's cloak of invisibility. in a minute, one minute.

newsreel: new lysol spray disinfectant... for over a century, lysol has been one of america's top—selling brands of bleach, but today, in 2020, the manufacturers felt forced to issue a statement saying "under no circumstances should people ingest disinfectant." doctors, health professionals and politicians are similarly disbelieving. very clearly, disinfectants are not intended for ingestion, either by mouth, by ears, by breathing them in in any way, shape or form. but today, the president has sought to explain away the controversy by asserting that he wasn't actually being serious. but i was asking a sarcastic, a very sarcastic question, to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside. but it does kill it, and it would kill it on the hands, and that would make things much better. that was done in the form

of a sarcastic question to the reporters. another question being asked forcibly is whether now is the right time to reopen the us economy. in georgia today, hairdressers, nail salons, tattoo parlours were able to resume business, even though coronavirus is still a serious problem in the state. the president? defence that he was being sarcastic to the reporters in the room. but i was out last night's breathing and that is not what happened. he addresses his remarks entirely to his chief medical officer and the scientists from homeland security. and he seemed deadly serious. the white house has been scrambling all day to come up with a plausible explanation — this doesn't seem to be it. let's get more on the situation in the us, with the reaction from georgia, one of the stage that has partially lifted the lockdown. with us now from atlanta is cbs

reporter brittany miller. donald trump didn't take westerns a few hours ago at the press briefing which he usually does, hard to see that as anything but a reaction potentially to his comments the other day. —— questions. potentially to his comments the other day. -- questions. you so much for having me. his press conference just now last i thinkjust over 20 minutes, about 22 minutes which is one of his shortest press conferences, many people were expect him to address this comment about ingesting or injecting bleach. but again he did not address it, we have seen so did not address it, we have seen so much backlash since making what he called a sarcastic comment, the fda, food and drug administration even at the makers of lysol saying do not ingest or inject —— bleach, it can be deadly which many of us know. also controversy in georgia, the area you cover, the governor partially reopening the state? that happened today, today was day one, but that looked like was a lot of nail salons, a lot

of barbershops and tattoo shops, has salons, all opening today with what governor kemp called "minimum basic operations", which basically meant they had to take certain guidelines into account when they did open their salons. a lot of people were out getting their hair done, lot of people were out getting their hairdone, a lot of people were out getting their hair done, a lot of businesses however chose to stay close and not really abide by the government's guidelines. tell us why that is such a controversial decision from the governor. so many people are split on what they should do, when you take a look at the numbers here in georgia they are not seeing a dip in those numbers so they think it is just too soon to reopen anything. 0nly people are questioning how you can open gems and how salons and still stay six feet apart and still maintain your safety. so a lot of people just don't understand why he is taking these steps now, others however say it is time to reopen the economy and time to reopen the economy and time to reopen the economy and time to put more money back in the pockets of georgians. with so much criticism especially from the mayors in georgia, how

much confusion is that the people and businesses as to what they should do, the governor saying one thing, mayors are saying another? one man tweeting today "please stay home", other people choosing to listen to the governor. —— one man. people are saying to use common sense, even for me living here in georgia, to hear one thing from the governor, and the thing from our, but i think what people are doing is using common sense and doing whatever they feel comfortable with. —— from a mayor. here, the british government says around 15,000 people booked tests for coronavirus on its new website before it had to temporarily close it. the 5,000 home—testing kits it had available were ordered within two minutes of the site going live. about 10 million key workers and members of their households are now eligible for testing, should they show symptoms. the daily total of hospital deaths for people with coronavirus rose by 768 — with the total now standing at more than 19,500.

our health editor hugh pym has the latest. say ah. pop—up units run by the army, part of the new push in england to boost virus testing. the number of drive—through centres is being expanded, and more home test kits will be sent out. all to handle possible demand from up to 10 million key workers and their families. but by mid—morning, all slots bookable online for today had been taken by 11,000 people, and 5,000 more ordered home test kits. the department of health apologised for any inconvenience, and said booking would restart tomorrow, with capacity expanded. mike, who is a teacher, had symptoms and wants to know if it's safe to go to work. he managed to get a test slot. the whole process was very seamless, um, i was able to register, and then ijust had to wait for the email to come through,

and once i'd got that email, i quickly logged on to the site and selected the testing centre for me, and it has been really easy. mike later drove to the testing centre in peterborough. he showed the email he received. it was scanned by a member of staff, and the test went ahead. he's hoping for the result by monday. at another drive—through centre, essential workers who'd had their nasal and throat swabs taken told us about the process. it was the most painless, easy thing to have been done, and i'm actually amazed that there's not more people here. i must say that all the stations were empty except mine. there two cars in front of me, and there was no—one behind me. so they've got the infrastructure in place. theyjust need the people now. but some weren't so lucky. one said he logged on and been told to expect a text within an hour, but it never came. i would have appreciated it if after the hour then i'd got the message to say, it's not happening today, can you do it again tomorrow? but waiting the whole day, it's like waiting for a parcel

that never turned up. the scottish government said it was ready to go live with a similar system to england, with laboratories like this one in glasgow analysing the tests. at the downing street media briefing, i asked how much more testing capacity would be provided. obviously you don't want people's expectations to be disappointed. are you pretty confident that you can to meet the demand that is out there, certainly in the next week or so? we'll see how it settles down. but we're encouraged by the 16,000 bookings online, indeed 116,000 people went to the portal first thing today. there are some more slots opening up right now as i'm speaking, and there will be more slots tomorrow and the days after. the nhs has spare critical care beds even with the covid—19 patient numbers, and the head of nhs england said there might now be scope to restart some more routine work which had been cancelled. it looks as if we are now coming through the peak of the coronavirus inpatients,

and so we have got spare capacity in hospitals across the country, and that means that as well as other critical and urgent services, we will be able to restart some of those more routine services that the nhs is also here to provide. the welsh government is also looking ahead, publishing a strategy for the exit from lockdown, which could involve a traffic light system, moving from red with some restrictions lifted, possibly as soon as next month, to a green phase, with very few left in place. health editor hugh pym there. let's get some of the day's other news. the brazilian president, jair bolsonaro, has launched a bitter attack against his formerjustice minister, sergio moro, who resigned earlier today, sparking a political crisis. in a nationwide address, president bolsonaro denied he had overruled mr moro to remove the head of the federal police. authorities in canada say the gunman who carried out

the country's worst—ever mass shooting last weekend started his rampage by assaulting his girlfriend. she hid from him in the woods overnight, and has since become a key witness in the investigation. police believe gabriel wortman killed 22 people while disguised as a policeman in nova scotia. the european commission's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has condemned the lack of progress on trade talks with the uk. he said britain didn't want to commit seriously ona number of fundamental points. downing street said the talks had been constructive, but admitted some aspects of the eu offerfell short of the uk's expectations. as we've been hearing, the united nations, political leaders and business leaders from around the world have launched a new initiative aimed at speeding up the development of treatments and a vaccine for covid—19. a key element of the effort will be to make sure that any vaccine is made available and affordable to everyone in the world, but there were some conspicuous absences from the international commitment, as reged ahmad reports.

preparations for a second wave of the coronavirus infections in germany. even as the country eases its lockdown. while in italy, the russian military releases pictures of its personnel disinfecting hospitals. this pandemic has breached into nearly every corner of the world, and governments have warned we are just at the beginning of this unprecedented crisis. some experts say the only way back to normality might be a vaccine. to that end, in a virtual launch, the un isjoining forces with world leaders and the private sector to speed up development of a vaccine and raise billions of dollars to make it accessible to all. translation: we will only overcome this virus if we join our powers together and build a powerful alliance. health officials have already done this and germany's prepared to support this politically with all of our efforts.

we have also developed diagnostics that are being used all over the world. and we are co—ordinating a global trial on the safety and efficacy of a vaccine against covid—19. the world needs these tools and it needs them fast. there were, though, notable absences. the united states, even as it battles the highest infection rates in the world, will not take part. president donald trump has been highly critical of the world health organisation and has already suspended funding. china too, where the pandemic began, was missing from the launch. translation: i hope we'll manage to bring people together with this joint initiative. if i may say so, china and the united states of america. because the fight against covid—19 is in the common interest of the humanity

and we cannot be divided if we want to win this battle. even as vaccine trials get under way, one covid—19 treatment study has had a result of sorts. a chinese trial of remdisavir has reportedly failed, but the company behind the drug has disputed the findings, saying the results were inconclusive. it is one example of how much work is to be done and whether a global initiative of this scale could work at a time when global cooperation has been on the decline. you're watching bbc news. a reminder of our headlines: the death toll in the us has passed 50,000, as president trump backtracks on a suggestion that disinfectant could be used as a therapy to tackle the virus. the uk government website for key workers to apply for coronavirus tests has reopened for bookings after it was closed due to significant demand.

the united nations has issued an urgent appeal to save hundreds of rohingya refugees who are thought to be stranded out at sea on people—smuggling boats. the refugees had been living in vast camps in bangladesh for three years after fleeing persecution in myanmar. south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan's report contains some distressing images. staggering to safety. scared, starving and stateless after months stranded at sea. rohingya refugees, including unaccompanied children, back onshore after the boat they'd boarded to malaysia was turned away, for fear they'd bring coronavirus to the country. rescued by the bangladesh coastguard, the hundreds who survived tell the tale of the dozens who didn't. forced to drink sea water to stay

alive, eyewitnesses say the bodies of those who didn't make it were thrown into the sea. mohammed made the perilous journey after borrowing money to pay a smuggler. "i couldn't find work in the refugee camps," he said. "the boat was cramped. we were hungry and i fell sick. when we got to malaysia, we were turned away twice. now, i feel unlucky and sad." it's believed hundreds more refugees are trapped on boats which were also turned away from malaysia. i asked the bangladeshi foreign minister whether they could return. will you turn the boats away, then? it's a difficult question, because we don't want to see people dying. it's not the responsibility of bangladesh alone to take care of all the stateless people of the planet earth. ask the global leaders, like the usa, uk, european union. who will help them now? as the world shuts its borders

because of coronavirus, the rohingya refugees hope that the world doesn't shut its eyes to their plight. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news. residents of mexico city are struggling with a lack of fresh water. it's a routine problem for those who live on the outskirts of the mexican capital, but the problem's been exacerbated by government efforts to tackle the spread of coronavirus, and reminders for people to wash their hands. it's raised concerns that efforts to tackle the spread of the virus will be hampered by the inability of so many to wash their hands. rich preston has this report. in mexico city, around a quarter of all houses don't have a daily water supply. 0ne in ten and get water once or twice a week. delivered by trucks and stored in communal tanks. the poor communities in this city of 8.5 million share one of life's essential

commodities. they can't even be sure that the water that is available is clean. a lack of running water is bad enough, but at the same time mexican authorities, like so many, are telling people to "wash your hands" and "stay at home". easier said than done for some. translation: we recycle the water for the bathroom to clean the dishes, water the plants. try to save some until the truck comes every eight days. and if the truck doesn't come, the people in these poorer communities have to use what little money they have buying water. translation: we have to continue using it, but we have to buy it. if the water truck does not come, it costs us 15 pesos, but we have to buy it anyway because i have to have water. mexico has the highest per capita consumption of bottled

water in the world. the instruction to wash your hands is simple enough, the ability to do it isa is simple enough, the ability to do it is a much more complicated matter. rich preston, bbc news. let's turn away from the global pandemic for a moment. scientists from the royal botanical gardens at kew in the uk are racing to save the last remaining tropical forest in a remote valley in colombia. since the 2016 peace deal with farc guerrillas deforestation in the world's second most bio—diverse nation has accelerated. yet the botanists believe the forest contains rare plants still unknown to science, some of which may contain vital medicinal properties. security correspondent frank gardner went with them. in the forests of colombia, nature is under attack. since the civil war ended in 2016, deforestation has skyrocketed.

this team of plant scientist from the royal botanical gardens queue in london have come here on a mission to discover and save unique plant species before they vanish for ever. in 2016, the colombian government signed a peace deal with the farc rebels, who were largely based in the forest. now remote tracts of land have opened up, farmers, loggers and miners are scrambling for resources . miners are scrambling for resources. colombia is reportedly losing 3000 square kilometres of forest every year. translation: this is the first time this area is going to be explored by botanists or scientists. for so many years, conflict and criminality made this area inaccessible to outsiders. there in a race against time to try and save this forest. one of the local guides believes he's chanced upon something extraordinary. this, actually we don't know exactly what it is and it could be something new. and you are

the first botanist in this area. what does it mean to find a potentially new species like this ina potentially new species like this in a remote forest? some of these species could have properties to cure important disease for humans. as biologists, as botanists, we have to try to understand as soon as have to try to understand as soon as possible, as quick as possible, all this amazing biodiversity. with the fight to save the forest, the colombian government has extended its protection to millions of acres of land. the army launched operation artemis in 2019 to combat illegal logging. but in remote places, the law is hard to enforce. illegal loggers are still at work in these forests. i ask them how they justify what they're doing. translation: we know it's illegal but our circumstances force us to carry on doing it, even though we run the risk that the police or army could get us. it's the only way how to make a living, to support

ourfamilies. this forlan plant will make the loggers $300 —— fallen. colombia today is a post conflict nation but it faces a new battle to protect its natural resources. in just this one expedition, the botanists collected 116 specimens, some of them new to science. may be the biodiversity contained in this forest could prove this country's most precious commodity of all. frank gardner, bbc news, colombia. and that was just a short cutdown of frank's our world documentary on the colombian rainforest. viewers in the uk can see colombia: saving eden in a few hours' time here on bbc news and at the times shown on the screen. and for viewers around the world, the full documentary airs at these times, this weekend, on bbc world news. australians and new zealanders are observing

anzac day, their annual day of remembrance for their war dead, by holding private vigils at home. this is sydney, where ceremonies were held in driveways and on balconies as the coronavirus pandamic forced traditional memorials to be cancelled for the first time in decades. first held in 1916, the anzac day parade was last cancelled amid the outbreak of spanish flu in 1918. now, getting through lockdown means a lot of people are getting closer to their neighbours. if your neighbour happens be to a professsional musician, you could be in for a treat. that's the case in lausaune switzerland, where violin soloist alexandra conunova treated her neighbours to this performance.

brilliant stuff. there's plenty more on all the main stories on our website, plus the bbc‘s visual and data journalism team has put together a map that tracks the global pandemic. you can click on a location to see the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. check it out on bbc.com/news. a quick reminder of our top story before we go and donald trump is facing a continuing backlash over his suggestion corona is patients could be treated with injections of disinfectant despite insisting his remarks were sarcastic. doctors, manufacturers and some state governments have rushed

to one ingesting or injecting this disinfectant is extremely harmful. that's it from us, do stay tuned to bbc news. hello. after a another predominantly dry week for most parts of the uk, the weekend promises plenty more dry weather. but slow, subtle changes, the increasing chance of catching a shower and it will begin to feel cooler particularly across northern areas. nothing much is changing very quickly at the moment because the pressure pattern is very slack. not many white lines at all on this chart. not many isobars. that means the winds are very, very light. there's nothing really to push the weather along. we start off the day with a lot of cloud across eastern scotland and eastern side of england and misty and murky conditions in place. that should tend to break up, the mist and fog should lift

and all of us should get to see some spells of sunshine. perhaps a bit more cloud than we had over the last couple of days. temperature—wise, 17 to 21 degrees. a bit coolerfor some northern and eastern coasts. north coast of northern ireland having a cooler day and as we go into the late afternoon in the evening, wales and the south—west could see a shower, and the early hours of sunday, generally more cloud rolling in across the north of scotland. those are your overnight temperatures. most places above freezing. it will be a little bit chilly across some eastern parts of england. we go to sunday and this area of low pressure quite a weak affair, it starts to move its way in from the north, that does increase the chance of seeing some showers across northern parts of scotland, a frontal system pushing south and a band of cloud and some showery rain possible with that and ahead of it across the heart of england and wales, we could see the odd hefty shower into the afternoon. there will still be a lot of dry weather and sunshine and another warm day down towards the south,

but noticably cooler across the northern half of the country. and into monday, you see the colder air making some inroads southwards, so lower temperatures for most parts on monday. a band of cloud and frontal system sitting around parts of england and wales and maybe the odd splash of rain but we could see slightly more significant wet weather developing down to the south later in the day. 21 degrees in london, but the further north you are, the much cooler feel to the weather. and for all of us, it is going to turn cooler as we head deeper into next week. and the increasing chance of some rain and some fairly brisk winds as well. that is all from me for now.

this is bbc news, the headlines: more than 50,000 people have now died in the us from coronavirus. meanwhile president trump has backtracked on a suggestion that disinfectant, could be used to tackle the virus. he said his suggestion that injections of disinfectant could treat patients was "sarcastic." the uk government website for key workers to apply for tests has reopened after it was closed due to "significant demand". the tests are being offered to around 10 million key workers and their families. the governement aims carry out 100,000 daily tests by the end of april. world leaders and the who have launched a global initiative to accelerate work on drugs to treat coronavirus. the head of the who says the biggest health effort in history is to treat covid—19. experts say any vaccine that is developed must be made available and affordable.