this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world: the uk's prime minister boris johnson is back in downing street, after his own fight against coronavirus, to tell the country now is the moment of maximum risk. i refuse to throw away all of the effort, and if the sacrifice of the british people and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. president trump used his first coronavirus news conference since friday to accuse china of failing to stop the spread of the illness. italy prepares to ease its lockdown — we'll look at what that might mean for one of europe's worst—affected countries. and putting it together

during the lockdown — the big stars of broadway mark the 90th birthday of legendary composer, stephen sondheim. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. president trump has held a briefing at the white house in the last few hours. there are almost one million cases of coronavirus in the us and almost 56,000 deaths. mr trump said there were encouraging signs across the country, and that governors should reopen their states as quickly as possible, as long as it's safe to do so. iam i am sorry, i am bringing you the wrong story. let's go back to the british prime minister.

0k... first the british prime minister boris johnson has urged people not to lose patience with the lockdown. president trump has held a briefing at the white house in the last few hours. parks manufacturing and construction businesses will be the first to reopen in the us. ?after seven weeks of a strict lockdown in italy, some restrictions will be lifted next monday. parks, manufacturing and construction businesses will be the first to reopen, restaurants will be able to serve takeaways. globally, there are now more than three million confirmed coronavirus cases — the true number will be much higher. the lectern is kept for major moments. borisjohnson ready to show he's back in residence. not ready to say in detail what's coming next. i want to thank you, the people of this country,

for the sheer grit and guts you've shown for the sheer grit and guts you've shown and are continuing to show. if this virus were a physical assailant, an unexpected and invisible mugger — which, i can tell you from personal experience, it is — then this is the moment when we have begun, together, to wrestle it to the floor. but the thinking in number 10 is that the virus is not yet down and out, and the risk of another more deadly outbreak outweighs immediate concerns over the economy. i understand your impatience. i share your anxiety. a couple of weeks ago, we met the rookes in wolverhampton, who'd almost been enjoying the sunshine of lockdown. but 35 days in, lucy's eager to hear more. we want to start hearing the conversation of what life might look like after lockdown. we're having those

conversations every day up—and—down the country in our living rooms. and i think if the government think that to have that conversation with us might confuse us is a bit patronising. i think we need to have some hope. we first met hector woodhouse. .. this is the view from my office window. ..who lives on his own in linlithgow, nearly a month ago. it can be a little bit depressing. yeah, you do feel lonely a bit, because your routine becomes completely different. but you've still got to keep a sense of humour. and, by gosh, we're going to need that! if ministers and their scientists continue to see the pace of the disease slow, it's possible there could at least be a plan about the plan by the end of the week. are we past the peak, professor whitty? labour believes they must. what we're seeing is lots of countries now setting out their plan for what happens next. and i don't want the united kingdom to be behind the curve. so, what i'm saying is, set out the principles, let's debate them, and i hope we can

all get behind them. thank you all very much. the political could hardly be more personal for this number 10, but the whole country's recovery will lag behind the prime minister's own. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. let's ta ke let's take you back to what has been going on in the united states. president trump has held a briefing at the white house in the last few hours. there are almost one million cases of coronavirus in the us and almost 56,000 deaths. mr trump said there were encouraging signs across the country, and that governors should reopen their states as quickly as possible, as long as it's safe to do so. i am sorry, i am bringing you the wrong story. he also said the us is conducting serious investigations into china's handling of the pandemic. we are doing very serious investigations, as you probably know, and we are not happy with china, we are not happy with the whole situation because we believe it could have been stopped at the source and it could have stopped quickly and it would not have spread all

over the world. we will let you know at the appropriate time but we are doing serious investigation. mr trump hadn't addressed the media for three days, afterfacing ridicule for his suggestion that injecting disinfectant might be a way of treating the virus. the question of disinfectant was raised again at today's briefing. the governor specifically said, they have seen a spike in people using disinfectant after your comments last week. i know your comments last week. i know you said they were sarcastic... i cannot imagine why. do you ta ke i cannot imagine why. do you take any responsibility? i can imagine why. i cannot imagine. let's speak to our north america correspondent, peter bowes. what has been the reaction to this briefing? it was a more subdued president trump. we did not get into it with reporters challenging him. it was almost as if his advisers had stepped in to say to stick to the script and that is what he did in the early part of this press

conference at lease. wanting the country getting back to work. it was a little bit different but perhaps surprise somebody to giving the press conference at all happy said on the weekend he would not waste his time. some breaking news on the beaches of la? there is a lot of confusion in california more generally. in los angeles, theissueis more generally. in los angeles, the issue is there are different jurisdictions. venture a country in the north have reopened their beaches. los angeles county, they are still close. it is very hot at the moment. some are travelling from los angeles to venturer cou nty from los angeles to venturer county meeting the beaches are becoming quite crowded. the governor of california is concerned about that, suggesting he might wrap up some restrictions, having them being relaxed in certain areas, to deal with the situation.

authorities do not want the situation where people are getting out into beaches and collecting in small groups as they clearly this past weekend. wa nt to they clearly this past weekend. want to keep an eye on. thank you very much. it's 7 weeks since italy announced a lockdown but from next monday some restrictions will be lifted. parks, manufacturing and construction businesses will be the first to reopen. restaurants will also be able to serve takeaways and people allowed to exercise outdoors. we've just received these pictures of the italian prime minister giuseppe conte, who's been visiting lobardy to meet health workers and doctors — 150 of which have died of coronavirus since february. 0ur rome correspondent, mark lowen, has been speaking to businesses about their plans for the weeks ahead. for 30 years, they've been cooking up italian classics in family—run ripa i2. for seven weeks, it's been delivery only. but from next monday, they can offer takeaway too, as the world's first national lockdown of the pandemic starts to ease.

phone rings ripa dodici. there'll be strict rules on hygiene and numbers. but for the owner's daughter, it's welcome. translation: on one hand, it's a relief because we're overcoming the emergency stage of the outbreak and can see a glimmer of hope. but on the other, we're full of sorrow because it won't be a simple return to normality. the lockdown has had a catastrophic impact. it's been the sacrifice of a lifetime to build our restaurant. we can reopen, but many won't. as italy starts to unlock, parks too will open up and outdoor exercise will be allowed. a breath of fresh air for veronica and her four—year—old son, tito. "i'm happy i'll be able to play inside," he says, "and i'm looking forward to feeding the ducks." movement too will be eased. the police checks will remain, but people will be allowed to travel within their own region and to visit relatives — with face masks.

a taste of freedom, for a nation that's endured such suffering. this is a road map to reopening, by a government keen to show italians that their sacrifices are paying off. italy's national lockdown came exactly two weeks before that of britain. the authorities here feel that people now deserve to see a way out so that patience doesn't fray. but psychologists say it is already. professor nicolais giampaolo speaks to his students about the impact on families. with schools shut till september and children feeling their parents' stress and fear, he's seeing many new patients. are you worried that this could be something long—term? i think so. these symptoms, we know from experience that may happen and be manifest in the moment, but also may come out months later. we can have delayed reactions. and while small funerals can resume, church services can't. the clergy says that goes

against freedom of religion. the lockdown has been italy's salvation. lifting it is a risk. and an aim to show that it will recover, one day. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. trying decide when and how individual countries relax their lockdowns has become the main talking point for people around the world. so what are the main options for a gradual lifting of the lockdown, and what does the experience of other countries tell us? 0ur science editor, david shukman, has been investigating. week after week, the eerie sight of lockdown, while behind the scenes, governments all over the world desperately try to find a safe way out of it. switzerland has allowed hairdressers to reopen. everyone has to wear a mask. it's a cautious first step. no country is rushing into this. in beijing, secondary schools have started again. there's no sitting close together because, all the time, there's the risk of the virus striking again.

everything about what happens next hinges on the rate of infection — what scientists call the r number. at the height of the outbreak in the uk, it was about three, meaning anyone infected was passing it onto, on average, three others, so the outbreak was accelerating. since then, restrictions have driven that rate right down to something like 0.7. that's only a rough estimate but, crucially, it's below the level of one. at that point, anyone infected only infects one other person, meaning there's no escalation in the outbreak. but look what happens if you relax the lockdown. suddenly, the rate jumps right back up again, risking a second wave of infections. an essential first move to get out of this is testing for the virus. in germany, teams are out checking who's had the infection and who's got it right now. the aim is to quickly spot new outbreaks — a difficultjob, even in countries that have done really well, like new zealand.

to succeed, we must hunt down the last few cases of the virus. this is like looking for a needle in a haystack, and we need your help to finish the job we have started. the next vital move is tracing the contacts of anyone infected. in china, a small army was drafted in to follow up anyone who might have caught the virus. there's a plan for 18,000 people to do the same in the uk. also, to use apps to help with the task. and if it all works, it'll make it easier to relax the lockdown. if an app comes along — it's important the public are part of that, because it won't work and be effective unless lots of us use it, and it requires the government to communicate with us and tell us what their plan is and what we need to do to help with this. and if contact tracing finds

more infected people, then they'll have to self—isolate. patience may wear thin if this drags on into next year, but the alternative is maintaining the entire national lockdown. we have really two choices as a country — either we can all be locked down all the time to make sure there isn't infection spread or we can just lock ourselves down for the much shorter periods of time where we may have been in contact with the infection. whatever happens, we all face a new kind of normality. in a hospital in greece, a birthday cake delivered in full protective equipment. lockdowns will eventually be relaxed, but that won't happen quickly. david shukman, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the big stars of broadway join together to mark the 90th birthday of legendary composer, stephen sondheim. nothing, it seemed, was too big

to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them, they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting for for so long. it was 7:00 in the morning, the day when power began to pass on the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony.

this is bbc news — the latest headlines: the uk's prime minister boris johnson is back in downing street — he said his priority was to prevent a second outbreak. president trump has used his first coronavirus news conference since friday to accuse china of failing to stop the spread of the illness. coronavirus seems to be the only news story right now, but think back to a few months ago, when one of the biggest stories was climate change. there are few upsides to this pandemic but there's no doubt global lock—downs are having a positive impact on the environment. a 2—day virtual conference involving 30 nations has begun. the petersberg climate dialogue is focussing on how to organise a green economic recovery. joining us now from california is professor robjackson, who is an earth scientist at stanford university.

thank you very much indeed for your time. so there are some upsides to lock down? there are, of course. the virus is tragic but amidst the suffering we can learn things from it. the most obvious example is traffic being down. how many people do you know are glad they are not spending an hour in traffic every day. bicycles are in traffic every day. bicycles a re clear in traffic every day. bicycles are clear on roads. i think the best example is air quality. 0ur skies are literally blue again. los angeles, europe and india. air pollution is down 30, 40, 50%. we could have this every day just 30, 40, 50%. we could have this every dayjust by coupling clea n every dayjust by coupling clean energy with electric ca rs. clean energy with electric cars. we don't have to shell to atone. and yet we all look for, we hope for turning points but it's very likely it that everybody else —— into their cars, —— to flying again? everybody else —— into their cars, -- to flying again? it is likely an experience does judith that. after the savings and loan crisis, the financial recession in 2008, global carbon dioxide emissions

dropped about i.5%. the next year, 2010, dropped about 1.5%. the next year, 2010, it shot up 5%, as if nothing had changed so we just hop a canal cars and again we will be back to normal. so what are the chances of change. you would hope perhaps people have a better sense of what cooperation could sing expect ring that whips in countries of east competing with each other over fighting coronavirus. there has been some competition for protective equipment and there has been sabre rattling over who caused what but i still think we can learn from this. there was stimulus funding —— there is stimulus funding —— there is stimulus funding being allocated right now. jobs creation, hundreds of thousands, millions of jobs now. jobs creation, hundreds of thousands, millions ofjobs are being created by wind and solar power, far more than a being lost in the coal industry is what we need is to couple the economic recovery with two employment opportunities and green energy that will put people back to work and help us, our health and the climate

long—term. us, our health and the climate long-term. and get the chances are surely that governments will have their focus on economies, restructuring economies, restructuring economies and all kinds of other priorities. yeah, i am really worried that governments will lose sight of the climate and environment commitments or worse, the companies also set aside does commit once under cover of the virus and here in us, our administration is rolling back mercury standards, fuel efficiency standards, oil and gas rules, things that will kill people. forget that hundreds of thousands of people in world die every year from coal or car pollution. it does not have to be this way. better, thank you very much for your time. some health workers in the uk are still struggling to get tested for coronavirus. that's the warning from the british medical association. it says that since the government increased the number of people eligible for testing to 10 million key workers and their families, the online system has been fully booked. the government target is to reach 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month — that's in 3 days' time, but on sundayjust 37,000 tests were carried out as our health editor

hugh pym reports. disc the army testing for coronavirus, part of the plan to allow up to 10 million essential workers and their families to get tested if they have symptoms. elsewhere at drive—in centres like this people arrived for tests booked online. 0n the launch day last week the service was suspended with all the slots taken but they were open today. what do you think of the process of the booking and coming here? it's quite easy, i would say. it's a bit nerve—racking because obviously there's going to be quite a few people with symptoms and things like that around here, so that was our only concern. but other than that it was quite easy and straightforward. it's been simple. it's not been as bad as i thought, as i imagined. easy to book online? yeah. quite straightforward. there's been a fairly regular flow of vehicles at this centre with things going,

it seems, quite smoothly. but that's not necessarily the case based on what we've been told in other areas of the country and other parts of the system. just trying to log on for the fourth occasion... kevin from liverpool has symptoms but the only tests he's been offered are some way from his home. doncaster and york and edgbaston, when there is a test centre which is up in haydock, which is roughly about 15 miles away from myself. it's just not good enough. the health secretary said they were still on track to meet the target of 100,000 tests a day later this week. but where to from there? where do you want to be with capacity and testing ability in a few months' time? we want testing to continue to increase. as you will know the prime minister set a goal of 250,000 some time ago. we're making sure that now nhs staff get tested, including when they're asymptomatic to make sure that we understand

whether people who are working at the hospitals have got the virus. future testing along with tracing of patients' contacts will be crucial to try to curb any spread of the virus, as lockdown measures are progressively lifted. the president of el salvador is authorised the use of lethal force against criminal gangs. he says gangs are taking advantage of the pandemic. more than 50 people were killed between friday and saturday and has ordered a 24—7 lockdown for prison gang members. the colla pse prison gang members. the collapse in the price of oil because the pandemic sent prices crime tumbling. west texas tumbled 25% to below $30 a barrel. the crisis has been made worse by a lack of storage space for oil. many famous musicians are taking to social media for informal online performances during the coronavirus lockdown — with just their living rooms

as a backdrop — and sometimes a few technical glitches along the way. in the latest — actors meryl streep, neil patrick harris and other stars of broadway have come together for an online charity concert to mark the 90th birthday of legendary composer — stephen sondheim. reged ahmad reports. # dinosaurs surviving the crunch # let's hear it for the ladies who lunch...# meryl streep, christine baranski, and audra mcdonald. pouring themselves a drink and singing a raucous rendition of the ladies who lunch from one of stephen sondheim's famous broadway musicals. happy birthday, steve! happy anniversary, steve! # i want to know how to get through...# just a few days after a few of the broadway stars and actors take part in this virtual charity concert, the idea to raise money and belatedly marked stephen sondheim's 90th

birthday by singing some of his back catalogue. how was i to know what your father had also hidden... neil patrick harris, and his childrenjoined others too — singing songs from another sondheim musicalfavourite for many — into the woods. musical theatre enthusiasts will recognise stephen sondheim as a legend of the genre, composing the music and lyrics of many broadway staples. the stars in this latest concert follow a growing line of singers who performed from their homes. 0pera star andrea bocelli has streamed a concert online too. his easter sunday performance from an empty milan cathedral during lockdown has been watched by millions. # where are the clowns? # send in the clowns...#

soon as the pandemic keeps the entertainment industry in hiatus, these events look like they become a staple of life in lockdown. reged ahmad, bbc news. you can find much more on our website, including statistics of where the nearly one million confirmed coronavirus cases are located in the us — and how some people have been dealing with being seated more often than they are used to during the lockdown. just log on to the bbc news website. a reminder of our top story. britain's prime minister boris johnson is back at work after recovering from coronavirus. he says there are real signs that the country is passing through the peak of the pandemic. he warned that lifting the restrictions too soon could lead to a new wave of deaths. that's it for now.

thank you very much for watching. hello. april thus far, for the most part, has been marked by dry, warm, and sunny days but the forthcoming week brings something completely different as we close out the month. significant spells of rain — it will generally speaking feel a wee bit cooler, too. but at least the pollen levels will be reduced from the sort of levels we've seen of late. eventually we will be looking towards the atlantic for our weather but in the short term it is coming at us from the near continent and across the channel. certainly as we start the new day on tuesday, there will already be cloud and ran across the southern counties of england and wales, relatively mild her underneath clearer skies across the north—east of scotland, maybe with a touch of frost with temperatures below zero. up to dry and bright to start with across the northern half of the british isles, showers developing across scotland and northern ireland and the north of england but further south,

notice how dark some of those blues are. it will be quite a wet day and the temperature suffering as a consequence, eight, nine or ten underneath all that rain. and it will be really quite wet — ten, 15, possibly 20 mm of rain which eventually will drag its way away from the eastern side of the british isles but come wednesday, we will be looking towards the atlantic to see another belt of rain after a dry enough to start, the rain eventually moving through the south west of england, wales, into northern ireland, on towards the midlands to the south—east of england. in fact, many areas seeing rain before the day is done except perhaps the central and northern parts of scotland, maybe a parting shower here but essentially

it is much drier. come thursday another pulse of rain will be working its way in on the southern flank of that low. the position of the low itself open to a little bit of interpretation just at the moment but if it comes a little bit further north, there's some really quite strong winds that will push in across southern parts of both england and wales and down towards the channel islands. another fairly unsettled day for englad and wales. for scotland and northern ireland, it is much drier with some sunshine until later on where we push the rain into the northern isles. by friday, that low pressure is moved away but again there is the chance of pretty hefty showers coming into northern ireland, wales, the south west of england, some rain further north in scotland and perhaps something drier through central and eastern areas with the temperatures just trying to recover.

this is bbc news, the headlines: britain's prime minister boris johnson is back at work after recovering from coronavirus. he says there are "real signs" that the country is passing through the peak of the pandemic. he warned that lifting the restrictions too soon could lead to a new wave of deaths. president trump has said china could have stopped the coronavirus from spreading around the world, and that serious investigations are under way into beijing's actions. mr trump was speaking outside the white house in his first briefing since friday. he also announced plans to increase testing. seven weeks since italy announced a lockdown, the country will lift some restritions from next monday. parks, manufacturing and construction businesses will be the first to reopen. people will also be allowed to exercise outdoors. restaurants will be able to serve takeaways. dine—in services will be allowed injune.