this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. europe pursues options to end the lockdown, as belgium sets out a detailed plan to relax restrictions. people needing medical care are urged not to be put off by the coronavirus pandemic, as visits to uk a&e departments drop by almost half. you should not be afraid of accessing health care services. we want you to call 111, call your gp, or call 999 first. but the nhs is there for you. the english premier league holds talks with ministers about how football matches could resume with televised matches played behind closed doors. three us states allow some businesses to reopen as the number of deaths from coronavirus

there tops 50,000. blocking the virus — an enterprise in china is measuring how well everyday items can restrict covid—19. 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, as countries in europe start to end their coronavirus lockdowns, belgium has come out with a timetable for gradually lifting its restrictions. most shops will reopen across the country on the 11th of may and schools will reopen a week later. in other developments, in the uk, people are being urged to seek medical care when they need

it and not be put off by the coronavirus outbreak. half the usual number of people are going to accident and emergency, while treatment for heart attacks and strokes is down. in the united states, three states — georgia, oklahoma and alaska — have allowed some shops to reopen, despite warnings it may be too early. the country's death toll has surpassed 50,000, that's the highest confirmed in the world. and the premier league has been holding talks with the uk government about how football matches could be more on that later, but first this report from tim allman on how countries are beginning to ease restrictions. this is mont—saint—michel on france's normandy coast. millions of tourists come here every year, but not this year. for now, it's like a ghost town. empty streets, empty tables,

the lockdown in full effect. translation: i would say it was done like a military campaign, because at nine o'clock, theyjust said, "sorry, sir, you are not opening." that was it, it was done in less than a minute. it was very sudden. so we closed, everyone left, we just dropped everything. it is the same all across the country. this is the place de la concorde in paris, almost completely deserted. but things may soon change. president macron suggesting travel restrictions could soon be eased as france tries to get back to normal. for belgium, that process is already tentatively under way. in a late—night news conference, the prime minister unveiled a detailed timetable to ease the lockdown. translation: wearing an item of protection that covers both

the mouth and the nose will be compulsory when taking public transport starting may 4th for travellers aged 12 and above. most shops schools will begin reopening next month, although classrooms will be limited to ten pupils and facemasks will have to be worn on public transport. translation: if we can present you with an exit strategy, it is because of the citizens that are also leading the fight against covid—i9. restaurant owners in germany have been staging a protest, laying out rows of empty chairs in dozens of towns and cities across the country. they say their industry is in a precarious situation and they don't know when they will be allowed to reopen. and there were tense scenes in austria as around 200 people took to the streets of vienna calling to an end to the lockdown there. restrictions have been eased, but for some, it is just not

happening fast enough. tim allman, bbc news. in the uk, former chancellor philip hammond is calling on the government to begin easing the coronavirus lockdown and restarting the economy. mr hammond says the country cannot afford to wait until a vaccine had become available before resuming more normal economic activity. let's speak to our political correspondent, nick eardley. it is an important intervention. it is an important interventionm is and it reflects growing feeling within the conservative party in the uk that there needs to be more thought about what happens to the economy once this crisis is over. the message from the uk government so far has been fairly consistent. they do not want to talk about lifting the lockdown as we have seen in some other european countries, because they want to keep the message of staying home a simple unambiguous one. those concerns about not preparing the economy or a

tension lead lifting of those restrictions are felt within the cabinet in the uk and within the ruling conservative party more broadly. this is what philip hammond had to say this morning. we have to start reopening the economy, but we have to do it living with covid—19, we can't wait until a vaccine is developed, produced in sufficient quantity and rolled out across the population. the economy won't survive that long. we are going to have to start reopening, but we are going to have to do it alongside the measures that are in place to protect the population from covid—19. that is going to be a much more complex phase of this crisis than the initial acute phase. locking everything down and keeping everything locked down is relatively straightforward, the challenge of how to progressively, carefully, methodically reopen, protecting both health and jobs, is much more challenging and calls for a really

skilful political leadership. there are also increasing calls for the government to be a bit more open about what that process might look like. the westminster government has been very reluctant to do that. in scotla nd been very reluctant to do that. in scotland and wales where things could be done slightly differently, the government have slap started that conversation. —— have started the conversation. dominic rab has talked about five tests which involve things like avoiding a second spike and making sure the nhs is ready. but there is a growing feeling within his party that people wa nt to feeling within his party that people want to know a bit more about how that lockdown might be lifted in the uk. turning to another question of openness and it's being demanded, the scientific advice. they had been a story bubbling since yesterday about the prime minister's chief

political adviser dominic cummings attending or observing auditing meetings of the scientific advisory committee which the goodman hazard is independent. this group has been extremely important because this government is basing a lot of what it does on its recommendations. we don't know who is on it and exactly what they are discussing or the conclusions they are coming to. the guardian newspaper here had a leak of who had been at these meetings. dominic cummings, boris johnson's chief adviser was among the cast list at some of them. downing street is insisting that he is basically dialling into video conferencing calls and listening to what is being said. sometimes offering help and it comes to issues like how whitehall might address issues. it has caused some concern forformer might address issues. it has caused some concern for former chief scientific adviser saying that have

questioned the independence of the committee and the labour party say they shouldn't be political voices on scientific advisory groups. it has caused some concern in the political community. but as i say, downing street are insisting this is more being involved in a destruction then reading it. —— in a discussion. british government ministers have been holding talks with the english premier league about allowing football matches to resume. games would be played behind closed doors for a television audience only. clubs would have to ensure the safety of players. meanwhile, the dutch fa has controversially decided to abandon its football season. mike bushell is at the bbc sport centre and following developments. the longer it goes on, the more uncertainty, financial implications and all of those things that go with it. but you know, this raised hope today that the football season, certainly the premier league season

could resume sooner rather than later is not without foundation. because the government has told us that this week it will be holding a series of regular meetings with senior medical officers from different major sports with a view to resuming certainly the premier league, may be other sports as well, as soon as possible. this is a quote from the government. they said the move is described as a quickening of the pace and intended to help sport resume within weeks if progress can be made. this would involve may be resuming the premier league season. first of all though, players would need three weeks' training. that is the suggested period they would need to prepare for a comeback and it would have course be behind closed doors. the government would hope the matches would be televised and put free—to—air tv. so of course, with all of these things, it is not without a big caveat. and there is lots of things to consider before a potential return. firstly, it wouldn't happen before the next review of the lockdown,

as we were just hearing from nick and that is on may 7th, the next review of the lockdown. the go—ahead would depend on government meeting its five tests we have been hearing about for easing those restrictions. those tests include seeing deaths and infection rates falling consistently. i think there will be additional measures put in place for clubs like liverpool, for instance, there would have to be regular testing for players and ensuring the safety of staff. but the government has said to us that watching live sport on tv would be hugely important for the nation, especially if it was free—to—air. it would give the country such a huge lift. how does that fit into the european picture? interestingly, yesterday we heard the news, and this could worry the likes of liverpool and leeds and west brom hoping for promotion from the championship, if it was to happen here, that the dutch league has been completely nullified. they have ended the season and said

that what happened has has doesn't count. there will be no repeat of scenes like ajax winning the title last year. because it has been null and void. completely written off. having said that however, they will still qualify for the champions league. those dutch clubs in the positions higher up in the league and on top, they are top on goal difference as things stand, they would go into europe in the normal qualification way. while in germany, that is quite interesting, a bit like the premier league in england, they are hoping to resume sometime in may. but our course, they are also saying there it is a political decision and it depends on what happens politically. because major public events in germany have been banned until october at the earliest. a huge drop in the number of patients seeking urgent treatment in uk hospitals for conditions un—related to coronavirus is fuelling concerns that serious problems are being missed. the national health service is launching a campaign to encourage anyone with health concerns to seek help. jon donnison reports.

much of the fight against covid—i9 has been about trying to keep people safe and out of hospital. but today the nhs is encouraging people not to be afraid it comes as figures from public health england show the number of people going to a&e over the past month is down around 50% compared with the last period last year. that's i million fewer visits. we are here for non—coronavirus patients too. so if you're worried about chest pain, maybe you might be having a heart attack or stroke, or you feel a lump or you are worried about cancer, or you're a parent concerned about your child, please come forward and use the health service in the way that you normally would. it's going to be better to sort those problems out now rather than leave them for later. meanwhile, the new government website on which key workers and theirfamilies can book coronavirus tests reopens this morning, after it was inundated with requests yesterday. almost 50,000 people in england tried to book a testjust hours

after the website was launched. 16,000 people did manage to get a drive—through appointment or a home testing kit. in terms of the number of people dying, figures released yesterday showed 768 more reported coronavirus deaths in the uk since the day before. it takes the total number to more than 19,500. it could well reach 20,000 today and because that does not include deaths in care homes or the community, the realfigure is likely to be much higher. two of those to lose their lives we re two of those to lose their lives were twin sisters katie and emma davies. both worked in nursing in southampton and both succumbed to the virus this week. they were angels on earth and now they are angels on earth and now they are angels in heaven. best friends and they were my best friends as well. they always said that they came in the world together so they will go

out together and that is what they have done. sisters and soulmates. their lives dedicated to caring for others now cut short. the death toll in the united states from the coronavirus pandemic is now double the second worst—hit country, italy. more than 50,000 people have died, according to johns hopkins university. three of the us states less affected are allowing shops to reopen. president trump has now claimed he was being ‘sarcastic‘ when he suggested injecting disinfectants may be a way to fight coronavirus, and refused to take questions at the white house daily briefing. david willis reports. thank you very much. and with that they were gone. a daily press briefing which routinely stretches beyond two hours, all over in 22 minutes. donald trump's reluctance to face further question seen as a response

to the backlash he has faced over comments made to the coordinator of his coronavirus task force the day before. 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 prompted a torrent of ridicule and condemnation. government officials warning of the health problems that ingesting household disinfectant could cause. and a stark reminderfrom mr trump's democratic rivaljoe biden. "don't drink bleach." president trump has since said he wasn't being serious, even though he appeared so at the time. what i was asking, a sarcastic, in 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. meanwhile, more than 50,000 people here have now died from the coronavirus, but in georgia and some other southern states, hairdressers, tattoo parlours and nail salons have already started to reopen. despite warnings from health officials that it's too early for them to do so safely. the headlines on bbc news... europe pursues options to end the lockdown, as belgium sets out a detailed plan to relax restrictions. people needing medical care are urged not to be put off by the coronavirus pandemic, as visits to uk a&e departments drop by almost half. the english premier league holds talks with ministers about how football matches could resume with televised matches played behind closed doors.

around 10,000 british tourists are still stranded in india, as the country enters a fifth week in lockdown. some of their relatives here in the uk are urging the government to do more, as they face an anxious wait to be reunited. lucy baldwin from buckinghamshire is one of many british travellers in india who has been waiting to get home for weeks. she is in the resort of varkala in kerala, in the south of the country. lucy, tells your story. you are right in india on february 12, how long have you been trying to get home for? ella mag initially i tried to get on a german flight because my mother got sick and i was desperately worried. that was a failure. then i tried to get on the uk flight failure. then i tried to get on the uk flight but i think there is something wrong with the ctm emergency financial assistance because the sms failed to work. 0r my family tried it as well. we

eventually got through about two days ago, so i wasn't able to get on that flight either. so what is your current best hope of getting home to see your mother? and your use a your mother got sick, the she have coronavirus? yes, she had all the symptoms, she is fine now. that is such a relief. it makes all the difference. at the moment the director—general of the civil ag asian —— the director—general of civil aviation. the resumption could bejune civil aviation. the resumption could be june orjuly or september, civil aviation. the resumption could bejune orjuly or september, there are different models to look at. the main worry for us here is what if tourists started running out of money? they have been wonderful here. i have been so impressed and we all have. so much better than in many western nations. we were well aware we are relying on humanitarian

hearts and the people here took care of us, the police are going around offering free food and accommodation, it has been incredibly lucky for us here. but some people who are young have been running out of money and are britons going to be starving on the streets? they have given us no information and we need guidelines to follow and they are so complex and they change daily. and some of them are on facebook and i have been on a whatsapp group and it has been five weeks of nightmares getting burned out and trying to keep track of the changes. it would have been wonderful if there hadn't been as many videos and someone told us what the actual guidelines are. they are strict. if you violate a lockdown there are repercussions and we all wa nt to there are repercussions and we all want to follow the guidelines very carefully a nd want to follow the guidelines very carefully and strictly. india has been doing very well, so... the

russians are in a whatsapp group with the russian consul talking everyday. we are writing to the fco and the high commission and we getting nothing. can i interrupt you for a moment? how getting nothing. can i interrupt you fora moment? how many getting nothing. can i interrupt you for a moment? how many people of different nationalities do you think are stranded there in your part of india and off the back of that, it is great to hear the people there are looking after you, but how many of them are you? i estimate around 250 here but there are more in tourist spots elsewhere and we don't know, we cannot get the numbers. we cannot even get the number of british people here. we have tried, it is impossible to find. another question. he suggested that the russians stranded were in contact with their consul and the brits are not. 0ver

with their consul and the brits are not. over the course of these lockdown is all over the world, we have heard the complaint from british citizens in different parts of the world that they feel that the uk, despite all the difficulties and admitted difficulties in various different countries at the moment, they feel that they are getting less well looked after than other nations. do you share that feeling? yes, especially as we are supposed to be the second most powerful in the world and it is a charter flight, it is the world and it is a charter flight, it is not that difficult. but it is also the french and other citizens that are having the same problem. not as much as us brits, but for example we have on a rainy and who was taken all away across state lines from mumbai into iran. the uk cannot even arrange for us to cross state lines. i am really questioning what exact is going on

here and while we not going delete my getting more information? we need people to explain guidelines does because we are struggling. we are glad to hear your mum is better and we wish you and all those in your whatsapp group all the very best in getting stately home to the various destinations. thank you very much. across the world a shortage of masks has meant people are often making do with whatever they can put together. but will they be any use when it comes to blocking minuscule and dangerous coronavirus particles? dr gero baiarda is a doctor based here in the uk — he's recently put a video online showing patients how to make their own masks at home. thank you so much forjoining us. can you tell us how we should make a mask? yes, first of all, i should say that any masks that we make ourselves are going to be not as effective as the masks that health

ca re effective as the masks that health care workers effective as the masks that health ca re workers are effective as the masks that health care workers are using. but we want to ensure that there is a safe supply and professor greenhow from the university of oxford recently put out advice that she felt that 95% of anything we cough out or sneeze could be absorbed by a mask made from a t—shirt. especially if you put a lining ofjust kitchen roll. i am not the most tailor capable person and i am not good at sewing. but i have made one for the bottom of a t—shirt —— from the bottom of a t—shirt —— from the bottom of a t—shirt. all i have done is cut to the last six or seven inches from the bottom of a t—shirt andi inches from the bottom of a t—shirt and i have sowed the bottom so that there is a pouch to allow some kitchen roll to be put into and i have applied ribbons to each corner andi have applied ribbons to each corner and i did that this morning. what this has over scarves and bandannas

is that you can then place it very effectively and tightly around the top of your nose and the bottom of your chin so that there is not much scope for leakage basically. when you get home you can discard the kitchen roll, you can wash the mask and you can reuse it. very helpful, thank you for that. it is a simple and effective explanation. how much protection does it give the wearer or those they come into contact with if they are possibly asymptomatic or presymptomatic? honestly, they are much more for protecting other people from you. it could give you some protection, it is better than nothing, but that is what we are looking at. it is better than nothing. there are situations we cannot avoid. many of us have to go on public transport, we still often have to go on the supermarket. on public transport, we still often have to go on the supermarketlj on public transport, we still often have to go on the supermarket. i am so sorry, we have to leave you. we

are saying goodbye to viewers on bbc world. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willets hello there. it has been a cool and a misty start for many this morning. although the mist and low cloud is starting to lift and will continue to break, we will see some subtle changes to the settled spell of weather we have had a through the rest of the weekend. we have already got some showers coming into the south and west and mist and fog around the coast, look how extensive the cloud is for the east as well. and so it is taking its time to lift and to break. it is even thick enough to give some drizzle and we have seen some fog over the hills. hopefully most will enjoy some sunshine as we head into the afternoon. but there are some showers around and they could develop across the south—west and wales and possibly some showers into the far north—west of scotland as well. near the coast it will feel cool as it has recently and the north coast of northern ireland cooler than of late, but most inland

will feel warm again. not quite as warm as yesterday. one thing that hasn't changed is the high count of tree pollen for many parts once again. the risk of showers is with us for the south—west and wales and drifting eastward through the night and as low pressure approaches the western and northern isles, these showers will become more prevalent as well. 0n the whole, frost—free, but it will turn chilly in a few spots, east anglia in particular. the changes that we are seeing to our weather are slow. we have very little wind around. this low pressure will bring in some chilly air and the fact we have very little wind is the reason we have that misty low cloud as well this morning. tomorrow morning some misty low cloud once again and the low pressure into the northwest will bring heavier showers with the risk of hail and thunder here and showers developing across central parts of england and wales could also be thundery. still quite warm, that is what is going to trigger the heavier showers here,

but it will be noticeably cooler in scotland and northern ireland, four or five degrees down on the temperatures today. that is because the air is coming right away from the arctic and eventually it will push further southward. we have still got that zone of showers with us on monday, still heavy showers in the north. we are also watching developments to the south as we progress into the first few days of next week. still have the warmth with us in the far south, but it will be cooler in the north and north wales as we get to monday and perhaps by tuesday, a more definite spell of wet weather coming in. but as ever, you can get plenty more information on the website.

hello and welcome to dateline london. i'm carrie gracie. this week... the first covid—19 infections in a lebanese refugee camp. the who warns of a rising curve in africa and latin america. and the world food programme warns of massive famine. even before the virus, 2020 was set to be the hungriest year since the second world war. now, the wfp says 265 million people risk starvation. and while the rich world may not be starving it too is reeling from human tragedy

and economic misery. my guests are on socially distanced screens — mina al—0raibi, editor of the national, a news service for the middle east, and american journalist and author jef mcallister. and here in the studio observing the two—metre rule, the bbc‘s chief international correspondent lyse doucet. mina, can we start with you? we have heard so much about iran through this crisis but we have heard less about the gulf so how is it tackling the pandemic and how does it sit in its dealing with the pandemic in the middle east in general? there have been over 9000 cases reported here. the first case was first reported towards february in mid—february. they were a family that had come

here as tourists from wuhan.