this is bbc news, the headlines six million children in spain have been allowed out for an hour for the first time in six weeks. it comes after the daily number of coronavirus deaths in the country fell to fewer than 300 for the first time in more than a month. italy, which has recorded more coronavirus deaths than any other european country, is to begin easing lockdown measures. the prime minister, giuseppe conte, said restaurants and bars will be allowed to serve takeaway food from may the fourth. parks will also reopen that schools are to remain closed until september. the british prime minister borisjohnson september. the british prime minister boris johnson has september. the british prime minister borisjohnson has returned to downing street two weeks after being discharged from hospital to he has officially resumed control of the uk response to the pandemic including the task ofjudging how and when the lockdown should be eased.

more than £45 million has been raised by uk charities for people completing various challenges in place of the postponed london marathon. it is the biggest one—day fundraising event in the world, attracting 40,000 runners every year. but this weekend, the capital's iconic sights looked rather different. iam going i am going to do the 2.6 challenge for women's aid. to fill the void, organisers came up with the 2.6 challenge, where people have to do something with the numbers two and six, like sophie, who swam 2.6 km in her back garden, dani watts did challenges like 26 steps for the rfu's injured players foundation. they helped her adapt to life in a wheelchair after she was paralysed playing rugby. most of these challenges i've done

in quite a lot of extreme pain. the pain i get is like someone is literallyjabbing a hot poker in you, and just crunching through your bone. like, i can't explain it any more than that. but this challenge has kind of relit the fire that went out, for the sport, a few years ago. well, it would have been considerably busier than those here in blackheath at the start line of the marathon, and the worry now is that this will make things very quiet for charities. last year's marathon alone raised more than £66 million, and it is estimated the lockdown could cost charities more than £4 billion in lost donations. mine‘s estimating that we'll lose between £12 million and £20 million in donations this year, partly as a result of our shops be being closed, but also from the postponement or cancellation of events like the london marathon, and many other community events where people choose to run for us. the 2.6 challenge has already raised more than £4.6 million. britain is showing charity really does begin at home. natalie pirks, bbc news.

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. italy was the european country hit first and hardest by the spread of covid—19. it took a virulent hold in northern italy in february and other national death toll stands at more than 25,000. italy's healthcare system has been stretched to the very limit and the social and economic consequences, they threaten to blight the country for years to come. maybe the rapid spread of

covid—i9 in lombardi was something to do with the ageing population or the italian way of intergenerational contacted but first, the government tried to isolate the worst affected areas from the rest of the country. it wasn't until thousands of people had been infected that the prime minister announced a nationwide lockdown on march nine.. vibrant, noisy italy was plunged into fea rful vibrant, noisy italy was plunged into fearful silence. except in the hospitals which were filled to overflowing with civic dems of this cruel virus. mostly the elderly and

the vulnerable. the death toll exceeded 10,000 before march was out. with intensive care units full, doctors had to make desperate decisions about who to prioritise for treatment. all the while, the healthcare workers themselves were in grave danger. in one of the worst hit towns, staff at the hospital we re hit towns, staff at the hospital were “— hit towns, staff at the hospital were —— warned hospitals that make warned that their facility had become contaminated and was now a major source of new infection. 0ne of its intensive care doctors is lorenzo who spoke to me from the hospital. i tell you that the hospital, the nurses doctors who ever, answer like a concert 0pera house. nobody, itell you, nobody

stepped down from it. did you ever come close to despair? to losing a sense of hope and maybe even motivation? motivation is one of the things you have not to lose. 0therwise things you have not to lose. otherwise in this situation you will be defeated by circumstances. in the future there will be time to reflect. now was not the time. now we have to fight. italy's coronavirus problem has now plateaued. the government is taking the first small step to ease the draconian lockdown. the enormous damage has been done. the country's wea knesses damage has been done. the country's weaknesses have been exposed. a debt ridden inefficient economy now faces a prolonged recession and in the midst of economic vulnerability there are fears of a resurgence of

italy's age—old scourge, organised crime, the mafia. 0ne italy's age—old scourge, organised crime, the mafia. one of those sounding the alarm is the veteran mayor of palermo in sicily.

italy sits at the heart of europe but it looks much more vulnerable than many of its neighbours. 0ther countries leaders capable of meeting this once—in—a—lifetime challenge? minister and 0la, welcome to hardtalk. italy is going through a tragedy and your death toll as a result of coronavirus now stands at more than 25,000. you have clearly suffered more than other countries in europe. why do you think that is? we saw the pandemic, the spreading in our country before the others, before the other european countries

and they followed us two weeks later. we started at the end of february. until now we are working a lot, the curve is touching the plateau and coming down but we are of course concerned about some regions still under pressure. we saw that it was necessary, solidarity, union among all countries, at a european level and this solidarity meant, also, a system of co—ordination for all the action and distribution of medical equipment thatis distribution of medical equipment that is necessary to win this battle. so in order to work, our country worked a lot. minister, you talk about solidarity and in a short while we will talk about dollar verity with the eu but domestic

internal solidarity first. do you believe that your government still has the trust of your people, given the way you have handled this crisis? if i look at all in terms of support to the prime minister conte, they are positive. but we know that they are positive. but we know that the reality at this moment after two monthss of lockdown and a lot of sacrifice that the italian people did, it needs not to be considered as the only elements in order to be safe because now the stress is to boost the economy and to support the social cohesion and many people who we re social cohesion and many people who were obliged to stay home, social cohesion means to have the most fragile sector of our society, to help the country be resilient and to plan a second phase. the recovery,

the reopening is very complex and we have to take care of the health of the people firstly but at the same time try to give to our society away to go out from the sacrifice that they did in the last two months. on they did in the last two months. on the question of trays that make trust and being straight with your people, isn't it time to talk of regret, of mistakes made particularly allowing that football game to go ahead on february 19 and then party political leaders, and your own party political leader involved in a don't stop malan campaign, keeping the city open which went on right until the very end of february when it was quite clear that the crisis was unfolding. it might be better for your relationship with the people to say we got this wrong. i would like to say that many political leaders make m ista kes say that many political leaders make mistakes not just in

say that many political leaders make mistakes notjust in terms of leaders from the government party but also the opposition and most of them they regret because in the beginning it was not understood, the powerful meaning of this spreading. many prime ministers around europe, they regret many delays in action so they regret many delays in action so the initial part of this spreading was not understood very well by many countries and by many political leaders. so it is not a question just to regret but the issue that we we re just to regret but the issue that we were confronting ourselves with something unprecedented, in the history of our continent and especially on a global level. history of our continent and especially on a global levellj understand that point. it is fair for you to make that point nonetheless the newspaper has looked at it in nonetheless the newspaper has looked at itina nonetheless the newspaper has looked at it in a fire investigation that the failure of national or regional government to co—ordinate and in

particular failures to deliver vital protective equipment to hospitals, vital failures when it came to understanding that many of your hospitals had become breeding grounds for the virus. do you think there are important lessons that you must now learn about the weaknesses in your healthcare system? if you speak about the medical equipment, for masks and ventilators, it was a problem we had all over europe because as you know the production and the chain related to this particular medical equipment, u nfortu nately, we particular medical equipment, unfortunately, we had to organise as the eu immediately. italy set up a system of national production immediately and all european countries did so because this was an unprecedented emergency that we have to face. if you are speaking about the relation between the country,

between rome and the regions, there was need for co—ordination because the health system is also under the leadership and management of the regions. but this particular issue, of course, did not mean that there was a lack of co—ordination. we have worked side—by—side to try to avoid all the particular problems. in terms of the lockdown, a decision has been made to begin a slow process of easing the lockdown, i believe, on may four. how nervous are you that that could bring a second wave, a new wave of spread of the virus? this is a huge point that we are working notjust on the national level but also at the european level. we need to have an exit strategy as the european commission proposed and we need to work together because we do not know if we will have a vaccination

available or if it is possible to com pletely available or if it is possible to completely defeat covid—19. so the second phase, the reopening, should be slow and well—organised and need some change to reactivate it and industry and manufacture companies can work like they are already doing means they also need to reorganise in terms of security and health protection in their fields of work. so it is a slow process going to deliver already next week because we have to be prepared for more in advance than make four. your europe minister, and the italian flag stands proudly beside the european flag in your office, but do you really think the european union gets it when it comes to the scale of italy's problems right now?

your economy is devastated, your industrial production number went down by more than 16% in march alone. you are facing a profound economic crisis now. you talk of solidarity with europe, but do you see any real signs of eu solidarity and understanding?” see any real signs of eu solidarity and understanding? i see it, i have to be honest. i saw it notjust in the apology that the president of the apology that the president of the european council did it, because at the first part of the spreading of the covid—19, there was not, let's say, a clear action towards italy. but then something moved. the european commission took an initiative in terms of economic help. the european central bank intervened in order to support the resilience of the italian economy. yourformer foreign resilience of the italian economy. your former foreign minister a couple of weeks ago said that he

worried that the european union was showing signs of the trump virus, that it was a question of germany first, belgium first, netherlands first, belgium first, netherlands first, rather than true community, united spirit. many italians today still believe that is true. many italians, of course, when they saw this tough period that we were going on, of course, they were asking for more europe — european intervention. and i think that i know that this feeling of dissatisfaction is coming also from the fear of some adventure that europe did in the past. we still have in mind the last economical crisis that we lived ten yea rs economical crisis that we lived ten years ago, while europe didn't react immediately. i think that the european commission, european central bank and european council took this decision in four weeks that probably in the past we spent four years to wait on. so what we're

having now is a more co—ordinated response, that is helpful. because we think that no country can manage alone, because we have not the financial price on the stock exchange. what —— financial crisis. what we have now is a financial crisis of the real economy in terms of distributing, in terms of exports, that is linking all the 27 countries. md, minister. i understand you are trying to put a positive spin on it, compared with some of your italian colleagues. but nonetheless, the reality is that your prime minister, mr giuseppe co nte, your prime minister, mr giuseppe conte, has insisted that in the end there must be debt sharing, through there must be debt sharing, through the form of some sort of so—called corona bonds. that is that the entire eu, including the richest countries, like germany, should take on and assume some of the debt burden that now sit on countries like italy. the germans have repeatedly said no, and they didn't

say yes even in the summit yesterday. so why are you being so positive? no, this is not correct, let's say, report from the meeting of yesterday. i am not positive because i am europe domestic. let's say i have a realistic approach to what we are living and what we have to do. and yesterday we agreed on some big steps forward. three fiscal tools that were already, let's say, agreed yesterday in terms of delivering before first ofjune. agreed yesterday in terms of delivering before first ofjune. may be, minister, italians look at the story of greece over the last few yea rs, story of greece over the last few years, and they see that in the future, italy's existence in the eu is going to be very, very miserable. because, however you look at it, your national debt as a result of what has happened in the recent months, is going to spiral way beyond the 2.5 trillion euros it stands at. your national debt is going to be 180% of your national

income very soon. that is what the experts say. and as long as that is the case, your future experts say. and as long as that is the case, yourfuture in experts say. and as long as that is the case, your future in the eurozone is going to be miserable. the case, your future in the eurozone is going to be miserablelj eurozone is going to be miserable.” think your prediction is quite miserable, in the sense that what we saw from the history of greece and the last crisis that we lived was a big lesson that we learned as europeans. indeed, for this reason, between march and now we took many more decisions that were taken ten yea rs more decisions that were taken ten years ago, just in four years. so many recoveries were done also in terms of europe. of course, there are 27 national interest, and they have to find a compromise. but we know that for this particular crisis, we have to be united. you keep telling me about solidarity, and you are giving me the technical reasons why you believe the eu is doing what is necessary for italy. but look at the public opinion. look at the public opinions, minister. in

your country, i am looking at the polls, one survey, 59% of italian say the eu no longer makes sense. in another poll, italians describe china as a better friend of the country than germany. this is the reality of your politics today. italians have fallen out of love with the eu, and your political opponents on the right in italy are making huge political capital right now stop i know, but i am not speaking about another reality.” know. i have concern about this feeling about the european union. but as a politician, we have to look at the reality and to have a vision. 0ur at the reality and to have a vision. our country, like each european country, without this alliance alone, i infront country, without this alliance alone, i in front of a global pandemic like this, pushing a huge risk to all sectors of society, can be lost. unity in the european union, this means also defending the national interest. i know that it is

not this particular moment, because there is fear, there is rage, there will be something not so popular. but in the mid and long—term, it is the only way to defend the national interest. well, you must be a great optimist, because you know better than me that your government is fragile stop you represent a ce ntre—left fragile stop you represent a centre—left party, but you also know that the league party on the right, led by mr salvini, is many points ahead of your party, and the other coalition parties, in the opinion polls. if there is to be an italian election in the coming months, it looks very likely that the league and its other allies on the extreme right will take control in italy. that, too many europeans, is a source of real concern. my big concern nowadays is to protect the country from the pandemic that it is living, to protect country and the people, that they are making sacrifices, and to start the

recovery. then we are going to discuss about the political future, political options, and so on. nowadays, our concern is another. i know that many people like about prediction for the next election, but this is not the main concern that they have. but my point is about powerful messaging. when salvini, mr salvini, said thisjust a couple of weeks ago, first we are going to defeat the virus, then, he said, we are going to have a big rethink on europe, and if it helps, we will say goodbye to the eu without even a thank you. that is the message that is getting through to many italians. this is a clear political message. i mean, there are options, there are people who support european union alliance in order to change it, to strengthen it, to make it more resilient, to update it, because we see that the risk and the opportunities that we are living nowadays on the global level a re are living nowadays on the global level are changing. some other defeat like in the uk, say that

going out of the alliance is a better choice. one final thought, andi better choice. one final thought, and i have been speaking to the mayor of paloma, he has been in that position for many years. he says that such is the economic hardship asa that such is the economic hardship as a result of this coronavirus in sicily, he worries that the organised criminals, the mafia, are going to make a big comeback. he says a den of mafia jackals is now ready to explode the new four. there isa ready to explode the new four. there is a great risk here of an alliance cemented by despair. how can your government ensure that doesn't happen? we are working on it. we are working together with the judge that are on the frontline to fight against the mafia. this is a concern that we are really aware of. he is right, and we are working, because all the measures that we are having now, in terms of support, also the people, the companies, the entrepreneurs, means that of course

they have to be channelled in the correct way, and never, ever take the risk of some infiltration of the illegal organisations stop so this isa illegal organisations stop so this is a concern that is really aware for us, for the system of the bank systems, for all of the government thatis systems, for all of the government that is involved in this social protection action that is in place. we have talked about the health crisis, we have talked about the economic crisis. how long, in your view, is it going to take italy to recover from what has happened? view, is it going to take italy to recover from what has happened7m terms of, of course, defeating the covid—19, as we know, on the global level, on the world health 0rganization level, on the world health organization is mentioning, we are going to defeat this, this will be the vaccination. the european union has also a line of budget spending now in order to boost the research against the vaccination. there are

many networks of research that are working across europe. so the first point that we have on the agenda is to defeat with the vaccination all of the risk. in terms of economic recovery, in terms of social cohesion, we are working, we are sybase i'd, all of the 27 —— we are side—by—side. because the stronger is the solidarity, the faster will be also the resilience and the recovery of the internal market union. the competitiveness of the european union in front of the world, and also the capability of our industry, in terms of value, to recover in terms of exports. there we know that we have to make it work, that we belong. european commission, central bank, they are with us, and the other 27 are moving altogether. minister amendola, thank you very much indeed forjoining me on talk. it was a pleasure. thank

you. hello there. we've had weeks of sunshine and dry weather, thanks to high pressure, but that's all about to change. this upcoming week is looking more unsettled, thanks to low pressure. it's going to feel different. it's going to feel cooler than it has done of late. the temperatures returning closer to the seasonal norm, and we'll see a fair amount of rain at times, too, particularly across the south of the country. for monday, we've got low pressure in charge. 0ne weather front bringing a lot of cloud to england and wales, the other side of the weather front bringing further showers and cloud to the north of scotland. further south, we should see some sunshine — northern ireland, southern scotland, the far north of england. you could see some sunshine breaking

out as well across the south—east into the afternoon. there will be quite a bit of cloud elsewhere, and one or two showers or longer spells of rain. a cooler day for all, certainly for england and wales, where we could still make 19 or 20 degrees in one or two places in the south—east of england. but with cool air, more cloud around, a few showers, the tree pollen levels will be lower on monday, so generally for most of us around moderate. now, as we head to monday night, we'll hold onto the showers across the north. some clear spells, but notice rain popping up across the south, as a new area of low pressure moves northwards to southern england and wales, and that rain will be heavy and persistent. but, with all the cloud around, temperatures shouldn't fall below nine or ten degrees here. but a cold night to come again across the north, a touch of frost in some of the scottish glens. here's the picture for tuesday, then. this area of low pressure will be more significant. it's going to bring some persistent, at times heavy rain across the southern half of the country, whereas further north should be a little bit drier, brighter at times.

maybe just one or two showers in the far north of scotland, but most of the rain will be across england and wales, particularly central and southern areas. it will be heavy and persistent in places. could brighten up later in the day across the extreme south, but that might set off the odd heavy shower. temperature—wise, the low to mid teens celsius, so feeling cooler, certainly, where you have that rain. as we move on into wednesday, there's a legacy of cloud across the country from tuesday's low. you could see a little bit of brightness in places, but then the next frontal system will push up from the south to bring stronger winds and some heavier rain to wales, the south—west of england, and in towards the midlands through the afternoon. but it could brighten up later in the day across the extreme south—west. again, the temperatures reaching highs into the mid teens celsius. it stays pretty unsettled to end the week. there'll be further cloud with a few showers on thursday and friday.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm aaron safir. six million spanish children are allowed outside for the first time in several weeks, as deaths from coronavirus in the country fall to their lowest level in more than a month. me and all my family are people who like to go out and have fun outside. italy, the european country with the highest number of covid—19 deaths, announces plans to ease some of its lockdown restrictions in a week. borisjohnson resumes control of the uk's response to the pandemic — two weeks after being discharged from his own hospital

treatment.