a very warm welcome to bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. my name's mike embley. the us economy slumps and the worst is yet to come. spending nosedived in the last quarter, as the lockdown began. the number of coronavirus deaths in the uk passes 26,000. for the first time, the figure includes deaths in care homes and the wider community. hope for a treatment — one of the most senior health advisers in the us says there's "clear—cut" evidence an antiviral drug can help people recover. it isa it is a very important proof of concept because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus.

and the british prime minister and his partner are celebrating the birth of their baby son. hello. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. we start in the us where the economy is shrinking at the fastest rate in more than a decade. figures from the last quarter show a 4.8% contraction but economists are warning the worst is yet to come. some positive news — the white house health advisor dr anthony fauci is talking of promising data from the trial of an antiviral drug — one that already exists — to treat coronavirus. here in the uk the number of dead has passed 26,000, as official figures now include fatalities in care homes and the wider community,

for the first time. more on all that shortly. first nick bryant in new york on the latest signs of how the pandemic is impacting the world's biggest economy. new york is a city caught between dread and desire. desperate to open up after six weeks in lockdown, but fearful of the fatal consequences of doing so too soon. a new york without new yorkers has hammered the economy. its tourism and hospitality sectors have also been decimated. wall street, america's financial hub, fears the onset of another great depression. but even though the city has passed the peak of its outbreak, the density of its population makes it especially hazardous to quickly open up. that covid conundrum. it's...| can't even wrap my head around it. it's incredible. steve ma rga rella owns a road—building firm in staten island, which he fears will be bankrupt byjune. he's a trump supporter, who believes the democrats who run new york are being too cautious. if i'm not working and this

economy's not opened up, and these fear—mongers don't back off, where they've got everybody scared to death, we all go out of business. steve, it's a vicious virus, i've had it myself, you accept that? and i'm sorry to hear that. the reality of it is, people are going to continue to get sick. i don't think they're going to continue to get sick at any alarming rate. horns honk we're seeing more beggars on new york's streets. this is harlem, a mainly african—american community, severely hit by this health and economic contagion. and this is upscale soho, the home of high—end retail, boarded up like a hurricane is about to rip through, which, economically, it has, every single shutdown day. don't open up too soon. but public health officials, such as danielle 0mpad, who live in these communities, warn against the rush to reopen. people are hurting financially, they're struggling to

feed theirfamilies, but we really need to take this slow because i would hate for us to have to shut down the economy again, if we get more cases. this is one of the most impatient cities in the world. they talk about the new york minute — it means right now, immediately, without hesitation. but although some parts of this state could start the gradual process of reopening in mid—may, here in new york city, the tough restrictions will remain in place certainly for weeks, and maybe for many months. every night, at nine o'clock, the empire state building is illuminated in a red—and—white siren light to honour the emergency workers providing care. it's a ritual that will continue until this crisis is over. but that's the unanswerable question — when will new york return to being new york? nick bryant, bbc news, new york. let's speak to our north america correspondent david willis.

we have to keep reminding ourselves that behind the figures the impacts are going to get worse? the world 's largest economy is in freefall and bear in mind that the first quarter of gdp figure reflects about three weeks of the pandemic lockdown, meaning the second—quarterfigures pandemic lockdown, meaning the second—quarter figures are likely to be much, much worse. the fear of some here is this good front some states to reopen their economies early, with all the attendant risks that potentially entail in the hope of boosting employment. we have sent 26 million people filing unemployment claims in the last five weeks alone. some economists warn even that will not be enough to return this

economy to pre— pandemic levels anytime soon. that, they say, could take years. it is a real dilemma, whatever your politics, trying to chart a path through economic and health disaster. talking of politicians, we will seek congress prevailed upon to pass another stimulus plan. there have been four so far, totally 3 trillion dollars but this agreement amongst democrats and republicans on the form that another stimulus package should take, democrats wanting money allocated to individual states like new york, republicans are opposed to that but the prospect of a v shape recovery is starting to recede for the simple reason, economists believe, that many of the

businesses that have shut the doors throughout this pandemic now may never reopen. thank you very much for that. the full human cost of the uk's coronavirus outbreak is becoming clearer. latest figures combine, for the first time, the total number of deaths in hospitals with those in care homes and the wider community. they show just over 26000 people have died so far — a surge of more than 4000 recorded deaths compared with the previous day. most of the newly—announced fatalities have come from care homes, where there are growing concerns that the number of cases is continuing to rise. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, explains the implications. happier times for betty, celebrating her 97th birthday. she's now in critical care in hospital with coronavirus. her daughter, andrea, says she picked up the virus in a nursing home and testing at an earlier stage for residents and staff might have kept her safe. i think it's a bit late. i think that coronavirus,

if the truth be known, is endemic in our nursing homes, and the people that are going to suffer the most are the elderly and the vulnerable. not to mention the staff. testing for all care home residents and staff, including those without symptoms, has now been made available, either with kits sent to the homes, or mobile units visiting them. managers say they need help running the testing and it's urgently needed. i do think that there is a tsunami of deaths that we probably... we may have been able to avoid, should we have had this testing an awful lot earlier. because the elderly do not... they don't present in the classic way. they don't normally have rip—roaring temperatures. it can be quite insidious, they are just a bit off colour. i asked about the new care home testing plan at the downing street media briefing. couldn't testing really have started sooner than that? the scale and the speed

of this epidemic is really in the last couple of weeks. and there is a huge national and local endeavour to both notjust test, which is very important, but to also understand the measures that would make a difference in care homes. and to look at that in a very rapid way, looking at the evidence so we can put in place measures that protect people. drive—through testing or home kits have been made available to millions of others with symptoms, including heather, who did her swab test at taunton today. because i'm a private carer, i work for myself, so i couldn't get tested before today. and it is really important, not for me, but also for my clients. over 65s qualify for testing as well, like mac and anthea. well, we both had the symptoms for a few days. and so therefore we really wanted to get checked, but the symptoms hadn't increased,

so we didn't need to phone 111, but as soon as the tests for over 65s, which we are, came available, we were quite happy to come and have a test. home test kits can be ordered online but only by those with symptoms. we haven't opened the packaging on this one, so it is safe for future use. there are a couple of different types of home testing kit. this is one of them. before you do anything, you need to register online and book the free courier collection service to come and pick it up. then you take the swab sample from your nose and throat, put it in the plastic container, and in the packaging, and then it's ready to be collected. slots for drive—through tests have been in high demand. home test kits ran out earlier today, but with new supplies, are bookable again this evening. the health secretary, matt hancock, has set a target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of this month. and that's tomorrow. hugh pym, bbc news. a little bit of cheer,

possibly. a senior white house health adviser has expressed optimism that an existing antiviral drug could help fight the coronavirus. dr anthony fauci said data from a clinical trial of remdesivir showed it could reduce the recovery time in sufferers and that the drug showed great promise. if you look at the time to recovery being shorter with remdesivir it was 11 days compared to 15 days so that is something that, although at 31% improvement does not seem like a knockout 100%, it is a very important proof of concept because what it is proving is that a drug can block this virus. dr anthony fauci. 0ur health correspondent james fauci. gallagher explains the history of the drug. it is been developed by a pharmaceutical company called gilead and it was developed to fight ebola. it was a hugely promising drug that never quite

delivered but it has shown to be effective against lots of other viruses, they tried it against sars and if this virus so they started trialling it in patients. the world health organization, when patients. the world health 0rganization, when it this outbreak was confined to china, they sent that mission there and said remdesivir was the most promising drug but now we're getting the real data out and yes, it shows it can change the course of this disease. let's speak now to bill hanage, associate professor of epidemiology at harvard university. i know you have been waiting to come on air. thank you for your time. significant, just encouraging? i think that it is definitely encouraging. i would sound a couple of notes of warning. dr anthony fauci, just

a fa ct warning. dr anthony fauci, just a fact you can do something that does have a serious impact that does have a serious impact thatis that does have a serious impact that is statistically significant upon the course of the disease is important. there should be compared with a study that has just come out in the lancet, from china, which also showed similar results but they had difficulty nailing it down into the statistical level because they had problems at that stage because the number of cases were declining so weekly they had trouble recruiting patients. cautious optimism. are we talking about something that might save the lives of people who might die from coronavirus or that would help with the recovery, make the recovery faster? we need more work on that. the headline figures, a drop of mortality from 11.6% to 8.7% for those who received remdesivir. that isa

who received remdesivir. that is a reduction. we still more work to see if that will translate into an impact. it also needs to look at what patients it works best on. we know from lots of studies of infectious diseases that some treatments can depend on the time during the course of the disease at which they are given. as we line more —— learn more, we can see where they can be given earlier or later. with prince to your previous second —— reference, the discovery think that may be able to save lives is something that gives us lives is something that gives us real hope and also a reason why we should avoid being overrun early on by being slow in taking up social distancing. before it really sucks getting into our community. there are bound to be concerned about side effects. in trials, some drugs have been known to make

patients worse. that is correct. there have been some side—effects, gastrointestinal and in some cases cardio pulmonary. the nih study is yet to be fully published so we will have to dig into that in order to understand patient population and side—effects and other stuff. thank you so much for your time and expertise. thank you. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the three—week—old boy meeting his mother for the first time after covid—19 kept them apart. 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 us economy slumps, and the worst is yet to come. spending nosedived in the last quarter

as the coronavirus lockdown began. the number of coronavirus deaths in the uk passes 26,000. for the first time, the figure includes deaths in care homes and the wider community as well as hospitals. the pandemic has wreaked havoc on a world already dealing with issues like climate change, mass migration and the tension between the biggest superpowers. how nations respond to the challenge could provide an insight into their fortunes going forward. so how will the pandemic affect the struggle for global power — and who comes out on top? steve killelea, is the founder and executive chairman of the institute for economics and peace. he joins us from sydney. good to talk to you, thank you for your time. what is your thinking about how this is going to play out in terms of global power? i think it will be different, there are different parts of the work does make different in different parts of the world. obviously the relationship between the us and china appear

at and old—time low. the pew research centre finds 68% of americans view china negatively, that is the lowest ever on that. we see the same thing in china with the accusations the us army may have been the ones which actually put the virus into china and china not taking responsibility for the origins, claiming it originated overseas. the us is also starting to put in a new imposition on trade with china, particularly related to the military, this will come down to technology and other related areas. so i think the relationships between the us and china are only going to get worse out of this. the us is also expecting about a 6% drop in gdp in the next 12 months, according to the imf. we moved to europe, i think the challenges there will be somewhat different. if we look

back over the last decade, the number of roads and general strikes have only been increasing. in europe, they have the largest number with over 400% increase in that decade. so you have had stag na nt decade. so you have had stagnant wage growth, loss of workers' rights, the misalignment between citizens and the political establishment with the rise of new, populist parties. i think this is only going to gain momentum and be turbocharged by the current recession which is coming up back—end of covid—19. and we're looking at the international trade and dynamics there, i think at one level the pandemic is going cause greater cooperation because the future pandemics are likely to come, but on the other hand we can now find japan is now paying japanese companies to misapply teens out of come —— supply

chains out of china, and a lot of them are moving into india. soi of them are moving into india. so i think these rivalries will increase. someone, ithink we will come back to you with a checklist to see which of your predictions come true. thank you very much indeed. —— and steve killelea, i think we'll come back to you with a checklist. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news: there have been clashes for a third night between anti—government protestors and the military in lebanon. these pictures show a stand—off in the northern city of tripoli. the country is facing its most challenging period since its civil war, with a rapidly deteriorating economy exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak. some emergency lockdown measures in cyprus will ease from monday. the construction sector will reopen, as will retailers and markets. an evening curfew will remain in place, but people will be allowed to leave their homes three times a day, up from once a day. switzerland is also announcing a loosening of its lockdown. shops, restaurants, bars and museums will be allowed to to reopen on may 11. but there'll be a limit of four

people around restaurant tables with a distance of two metres between tables, and a ban on large gatherings remains in place. the spanish prime minister, pedro sanchez, has said he will take personal responsibility for any mistakes the government has made in its handling of the pandemic. spain is one of the worst affected countries in europe, with more than 211,000 deaths. a four—stage process of lifting the lockdown imposed in march has now begun. borisjohnson and his partner carrie symonds have received congratulations and good wishes from around the world following the birth of their baby boy. downing street say the prime minister won't be taking paternity leave at the moment — as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. champagne arrives at number 10 after the birth of a baby boy for whom this will be home. there were whispers in westminster about the prime minister's whereabouts. then news confirmed just before 10:00am.

no glimpse yet of carrie symonds or her first child, but a picture of borisjohnson, already known to have fathered five, on his return from their side. so, again, the foreign secretary played understudy in parliament. good morning. the labour leader on his way to not—quite prime minister's questions again. both mother and baby are doing well and i'm sure the whole house will want to join with me in sending congratulations and our very best wishes to them. i think we all recognise the anxiety that the prime minister and carrie must have gone through in these past few weeks. unimaginable anxiety, and so i really hope this brings them incredible relief and joy. such happy news amid such uncertainty. 2020 is certainly a year they will never forget. with the most grave reasons to remember, a year more dangerous and dramatic than the most outlandish political fiction. thank you, thanks all. trying to run the government's response to a serious health and economic emergency... i must continue my

self—isolation. .. ..then the prime minister confined to intensive care, his own health touch—and—go. back at work now, with plenty of well wishes for his family news, but facing as a government the most agonising and important decisions of its time in charge. the government itself, the public, schools, businesses, trade unions, need to plan ahead. and they're saying that loudly and clearly. the prime minister said on monday that he wanted maximum transparency. well, will the first secretary give us some now and tell us when the government will publish an exit strategy? but with the government's scientific committee, sage, closely monitoring the situation, ministers are reluctant to give more clues. it would be very difficult for us to responsibly set out those proposals before we've had that subsequent advice from sage, both on the rate of infection, the death rate. we can't be pulled into making proposals in advance without sage opining. but after gathering his

ministers tomorrow, it's likely the prime minister will inch towards what might be next. not with an encyclopaedic exit strategy, but with a gauge perhaps of how we might start to tiptoe our way out of this moment. those in charge have been scrambling to keep up with the pace of the virus, yet the journey out of this crisis will be anything but quick. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. just briefly to a baby and more difficult circumstances. a romanian mother has met her newborn son for the first time — after they both tested positive for covid—19 in hospital. they've been separated for three weeks but are now reunited happy and healthy. freya cole has the story. it's an emotional exchange. a mother holds her newborn baby for the very first time, three weeks after birth. young dimitri was rumania's first baby dimitri was rumania's first ba by to dimitri was rumania's first baby to test positive for covid—19. he is healthy now, and so is his mum after she too

fell ill. in hospital, maternity nurses kept close and caring watch. they even made daily video calls to help create a bond. i felt a huge pain during isolation, but i was very happy to see him by phone. i could recognise his crying from far away. translation: it was a huge responsibility for us all, and for me, it was the happiest time now. a surreal moment to finally be able to live hospital and go home together. and freya cole, abc news. —— bbc news. it's good to see people smiling, there was a smile in there just briefly. a smiling, there was a smile in therejust briefly. a recap smiling, there was a smile in there just briefly. a recap of there just briefly. a recap of the headlines, the us economy shrinking at the fastest rate in more than a decade but that is just the first quarter, the

next quarter likely to be much more difficult. much more on the news any time for you on the news any time for you on the website and on twitter. thank you for watching. hello. it wasn't so much the case of april showers on wednesday, this was the scene for a time across birmingham, but give it a wee bit of time and eventually that rain cleared away and out came the sun. the reason for it all? well, we have not one but two weather fronts to contend with and thursday again was a real mishmash of weather, though pressure very much the dominant figure, the ice about squeezing together on the southern flank. so it will be a particularly cold starts the day given breeze and cloud, but for some it may be a wet one. we're just pushing wednesday's rain if you you like away from the north of england into central and is a pa rt england into central and is a part of scotland. right from the word go, there are showers

across wales in south—west england that will move their way eastwards throughout the day. maybe the odd rumble of thunder and those winds noticeable, too, in the channel islands, a0 miles an hour. the northern ireland, the best and brightest of the day out towards the west, scotland stuck under cloud, nine only, with a high of 13 or 1a. those showers keep going for those eastern areas during the course of the evening, gradually filtering away as the low pressure tries to move its centre of gravity out into the north sea. but it's still the dominant influence across the northern half of the british isles and come the afternoon againi isles and come the afternoon again i think we will see some pretty heavy downpours towards these inside of the pennines. hopes the driest of the weather further towards the south and west where we could well see a high in the day of 15 or 16. that low pressure is still the dominant feature as we take you out friday and move you into

the first part of the weekend. but you just get the sense it is drifting a little bit further towards the east and out allows us to start picking up out allows us to start picking up the north and north—westerly wind. so the northern area is fully exposed to that wind, we will probably see the bulk of the showers there. elsewhere, saturday is shaping up to be a pretty reasonable day. quite a lot of sunshine around and temperatures responding as a consequence. a high of about 16 or 17. but it doesn't last. now, there is some uncertainty about sunday, it could well be the rain i'm showing you here working its way to the south actually moves a little bit further north stop we will keep you posted on that one. take care. bye—bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the coronavirus pandemic has driven the us economy into its most severe contraction for more than a decade. it shrank at a rate of nearly 5% in the first three months of 2020. the head of the us central bank has warned there'll be further economic pain ahead. the uk death toll from coronavirus has passed 26,000. for the first time, the official figures counted all deaths linked to the virus, including those in care homes. the new method shows that the pandemic claimed nearly a,000 more lives than were being recorded previously. the white house health advisor, dr anthony fauci, has expressed optimism about an experimental anti—viral drug for treating coronavirus. he said trial data showed that remdesivir had a clear—cut and positive effect in reducing recovery time,