this is bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk prime minister is set to discuss how the coronavirus lockdown can be eased, but he's unlikely to set out a timetable. the white house health advisor says there's been positive data from us trials of an anti—viral drug for treating covid—19. the us federal bank warns coronavirus has left the world's biggest economy facing the worst period in its history. hungary passes its coronavirus peak with only 260 deaths, but doctors are left confused by an abrupt reduction in testing and hospital beds.

0n the day he celebrates his 100th birthday, the queen recognises captain tom moore's remarkable fundraising achievements with an honour. hello. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments in britain and globally. here, the prime minister, borisjohnson, will chair the cabinet later this morning following his return to work. the meeting will consider how to contain the virus and policies that will inform the review of lockdown restrictions on may 7. in the united states, more than 60,000 deaths have been recorded after 2,000 fatalities were reported in the last 2a hours. and south korea says it recorded no new domestically

transmitted cases of covid—19. those are the main developments. so, let's start with dan johnson's report on boris johnson's plans to hold his first daily briefing since recovering from covid—19. it is becoming clear our care homes have enjoyed an undercurrent of coronavirus deaths. previously unseen, but at least now properly counted in the figures. for weeks, care held of managers have played for adaptive equipment, called the proper testing of staff and residents, which is now in place. 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 riproaring temperatures, it can be quite insidious. they arejust temperatures, it can be quite insidious. they are just a bit

of colour. testing has been the watchword throughout this crisis. we have a simple message for all countries. test, test, test. from the world health organization to the prime minister... this is how we will unlock the coronavirus, this is how we will defeat it in the end. there were targets... we will massively scale up our testing capacity in the week ahead so we had 25,000 tests a day. then new ones. i am now setting the goal of 100 thousand tests per day by the end of this month. that is the goal and i am determined that we will get there. we have reached 52,000. still a long way short. and this afternoon, we will hear from the prime minister, only back at work this week and now a new dad. he is expected of some hint of the way out of the

lock down we're all living under, but alongside a reminder of the government owned tests that must be met first. dan johnson, abc news. —— bbc news. a senior white house health adviser has expressed optimism that an existing antiviral drug could help fight 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 in the remdesivir arm, 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 has proven is that a drug can block this virus. the head of the us central bank, the federal reserve, says the american economy is facing the worst period

in its history as a result of the global health emergency. the 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 the year. nick bryant reports from new york. 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 ompad,

who live in these communities, warn against the rush to reopen. people are hurting financially, they're struggling to feed their families, 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 9:00, 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 round up some of the other main developments: president trump says he will not extend social distancing measures beyond thursday despite the death of 60,000 americans from the coronavirus. the united states currently accounts for a third of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide. mr trump is keen for states to reopen their economies. there's been no recorded domestic transmission of coronavirus in south korea for the first time since the outbreak began more than two months ago. four new cases were confirmed on thursday, all imported. all new arrivals into south korea are quarantined for two weeks. save the children has warned that the horn of africa is facing an unprecedented threat from the coronavirus, locusts and flooding. the charity says more than 5 million young children in the region are already acutely malnourished, and has called for urgent help. portugal's government

is expected to approve a detailed plan for easing restrictions imposed in response to the covid—i9 pandemic. with the rate of infections appearing to have stabilised in recent days, the hope is that a gradual reopening will be sustainable. hungary appears to have weathered the coronavirus storm better than many countries so far with only 2,727 confirmed cases and 300 deaths. so, why did the government order hospitals to clear 39,000 hospital beds? could more people die from lack of medical care at home than from the pandemic? and why has the government changed its mind about testing? nick thorpe reports. getting ready for testing in hungary. here, social workers are sheltered for the homeless enable a pest suburb, ordered by the city mayor. among the

staff here, one among the eight tested positive. though infection rates have been remarkably low so far for the general population, there have been serious outbreaks at hospitals and care homes. translation: we were pleading to start testing. at least to only allow elderly people to be sent from hospitals to care homes if they tested negative. u nfortu nately homes if they tested negative. unfortunately that was not the protocol. but now it looks as though they have taken that step. the government looks set to embrace testing at last, under pressure from both the opposition and its own medical experts. early on in the pandemic in hungary, doctors realised that patients were catching the coronavirus actually in the hospitals. so they began emptying the wards. at first voluntarily. patients we re at first voluntarily. patients were advised to go home immediately. george's wife was hospitalised with a broken hip. soon after the operation, she was sent home.

translation: the water above her was converted into a corona ward. so there was a danger she might be infected. a few days after she got home, she developed a high fever, no doctor would examine her in case she had the virus. eventually the family paid for a private test. it was negative. the lesson i draw from this is at the health system is so focused on treating coronavirus, that those with other illnesses either can't get treatment or don't know where to turn. something should be done about that. swift government measures and the self—discipline of the population kept infection numbers down. but next week the government plans to relax some restrictions. translation: what comes next is going to be an enormous test. can this epidemic continue to be suppressed if we don'tjust sit at home, but start to live ain? sit at home, but start to live again? and fora

sit at home, but start to live again? and for a different strategy, a different momentum and strong organisation would be needed. i am very curious what will happen. any breathing difficulties? feeling of suffocation, weariness? no. this is a superman. in the coming weeks, the prime minister will face the biggest challenge of his long clinical career. reopening his country for business would cost many lives. how will he explain that choice to the public and will they believe him ? this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk prime minister is set to discuss how the coronavirus lockdown can be eased, but he's unlikely to set out a timetable. the senior hite house health advisor says there's been positive data from us trials of an anti—viral drug for treating covid—i9. let's stay with that story.

joining me now is dr kuppalli, an infectious disease physician who has focused on the care of vulnerable patients in the us and abroad. thank you so much forjoining us thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc news. this drug that has been talked about, how do you think, how much hope do you think or positivity should we feel about the fact that this now has been touted as something that could potentially treat coronavirus? so this data today coming out from the trial is very promising, it showed that patients who received the drug had a 31% faster time to recovery tha n had a 31% faster time to recovery than those who did not. so it did also suggest survival benefit, although that data is still being analysed. so it is some positive information coming out from this trial with remdesivir, which has been used in a couple

of different trials at this point. remdesivir was developed, correct me if i am wrong, for ebola, wasn't it? how quickly cannot now get developed to fight coronavirus if possible? yes, this is a perfect example of why research and development for emerging pathogens is important. it was developed for ebola and it was shown not to be efficacious for ebola but it has now been repairers —— repurposed for coronavirus and is currently being looked at by the food and drug administration for emergency use of the rise asian and my understanding is gilead has many doses available to try and send out if it gets that authorisation. gilead are the drugs company, pharma company behind remdesivir. talk me through what you think the impact might be. obviously, remdesivir is not a vaccine. it isa remdesivir is not a vaccine. it is a treatment. the search for an effective vaccine continues.

but how much pressure do you think this drug potentially could remove from the healthcare systems worldwide? that is an important question. in the data that they discussed today, it showed that patients who receive the drug have a shorter time of hospitalisation from 11 days is versus 15 days, than those who do not receive the drug. that is important because it helps people get through the healthcare system quicker and that helped to offload patients from our hospital system, thereby relieving pressure for patients who might be coming into the hospital system, and that is important because, as we know, our hospitals have been overburdened with patients because of coronavirus infection. what side-effects can one expect if one is taking remdesivir? thus far the side—effects that we know most common from remdesivir our elevation in your liver enzymes

and it can cause nausea. those are the most common ones. 0k, doctor, thank you very much indeed forjoining us here on bbc news. uk airports, fast food chains and public transport bodies say they are considering using thermal imaging cameras to help stop the spread of coronavirus. our transport correspondent tom burridge has been to bournemouth airport, where they already use the technology, to find out how it could work in future. when we go back to this, can cameras help detect who has the virus? as i approached the thermal imaging camera, it picks me up and it can see that my temperature is 36 point four degrees, but if i've put a bottle full of hot water onto my head, bingo. it thinks that

i have got a really high temperature, and that is the alarm sounding, alerting staff, and as you can see, the cameras over here, when it is linked up to the computer over there. there systems are being tested on staff here at bournemouth airport. and, at some hospitals. larger airports have shown interest. other businesses and organisations have too. we've had significant interest from the nhs or a&e departments. we are talking to a numberof departments. we are talking to a number of restaurant chains throughout the uk, construction companies. it will give you a different view, a different set of eyes that you simply cannot have without technology. the airport here has become a parking lot for planes. passengers are noticeably absent. but they are preparing for the day when they will

return. they are putting these perspex screens up at check—in. temperature checks would be just another measure. temperature checks would be just another measurelj temperature checks would be just another measure. i think it isa just another measure. i think it is a very useful tool. early days and that is why we are testing it to make sure we can understand what we can plan for. we spoke to someone who has written an academic paper on how effective this type of technology is. one of the big challenges in using these scanners is that prior to the onset of symptoms, a presymptomatic infection or an asymptomatic infection, you don't actually pick up a fever because they don't have one. i think it is useful to look at them asa think it is useful to look at them as a way of catching some people but we need to be careful not to pull ourselves into thinking this will catch absolutely everybody. the company behind the product admits it is not a silver bullet. they say when restrictions begin to left, checks could reassure us when

venues become busy again. there have been clashes for a third night between anti—government protesters in lebanon on. the country is facing its most challenging period since the civil war with a rapidly to deteriorating economy exacerbated by lockdown. with cinemas closed all over the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, the city of madrid found a way for some its residents to go to the movies without leaving their homes. the new balcony cinema moves to a different neighbourhood every evening for people to watch a film with their neighbours. let's ta ke let's take the movies and the cinema to the streets so eve ryo ne cinema to the streets so everyone can enjoy at.

it's kind of like a summer cinema, outdoor cinema. what we do is we take these huge screens through the city, take it to the neighbourhoods. i have been alone during the whole month in this small tiny apartment in quarantine, and i wa nt apartment in quarantine, and i want to feel connected in real life with other people, not just via online, and this was a good way to connect with my neighbours. when i thought the episode, that i have already seen before, actually, it was like, well, even in the most

difficult situations, you have to believe in the power of love. it was nice to see a series from the balcony, enjoying this time with the family. any type of distraction is very valued. applause it was a very dramatic moment because everybody goes up in the streets and they clapped and they enjoy. people are enjoying it so much. balcony cinema in madrid. captain tom moore, who captured the hearts of many by raising millions for the uk's health service, celebrates his 100th birthday today. he will have an raf fly past and is being made an honorary colonel.

the veteran was part of what's known as the ‘forgotten army', the soldiers who fought for in burma during world war ii. our correspondent, robert hall has been looking back at his military career. he wears the burma star, a metal marking service on some of world war ii's most challenging battlefields. these are the men of what has been dubbed the forgotten army, fighting on the other side of the world and denied the press coverage given to battles in europe and africa. tom moore might have expected to fight his war in the regiment he joined but he arrived in india ina very joined but he arrived in india in a very different role. the decision was made in 1941 to convert 33 italians to become tanks and that is what happened to the duke of wellington's regiment so in 1941 they set

sail to regiment so in 1941 they set sailto india in regiment so in 1941 they set sail to india in about august and they arrived at the end of october and on arrival they converted to become a tank regiment equipped initially with valentine tanks. for the next three years, tom's job was to keep his tanks and crews ready to fight the japanese and the hostile environment of burma. those who survived the bullets and the shells often fell victim to the jungle itself. we lost almost as many men through disease as we did through the actual japanese, because you are always wondering where so—and—so was, oh, he's been sent back to hospital because he got ulcers on his legs or his been bitten bya on his legs or his been bitten by a mosquito. the high temperature, the high humidity was enough to rot uniforms and ca nvas was enough to rot uniforms and canvas ina was enough to rot uniforms and canvas in a matter of a few months. there was no real

transport or logistic infrastructure. muddy tracks everywhere, so in order to keep the weapons and the tanks on the weapons and the tanks on the road, tom'sjob was made more difficult, and i would estimate it would be multiplied bya estimate it would be multiplied by a difficulty factor of at least ten. every survivor from the forgotten army knows that they are lucky to be able to tell their stories. we have to thank all the people we actually lost in the actual war itself, and we owe a great debt to them. tom, at the end of his life has emerged from the shadows. he was a man, even in his careerfrom shadows. he was a man, even in his career from the sound of it who was perhaps not in the limelight but perhaps doing a very important job quietly. limelight but perhaps doing a very importantjob quietly. the members of the forgotten army like tom never received any other accolade other than the medals they were awarded at the end of the war, and it is

absolutely right that we should hold tom up as an example of those people and say, let's not forget them in the way we did in the past and let's celebrate our unsung heroes. and as the hours tick down to the big day, tom moore's regiment gave had their recognition. he is now an honorary colonel and he will wear their middle. an old soldierjust doing his duty for us soldierjust doing his duty for us all. happy birthday. the belgians are famous for their love of "moules and frites" and now they're being urged to eat more fries to stop hundreds of thousands of tons of potatoes rotting. this is just one of the potato mountains which are growing at processing plants across belgium. but with restaurants and cafes closed demand for fries has

reportedly dropped by as much as 80%. now farmers leaders are appealing to belgians to eat an extra portion of fries each week to help their industry. thanks so much for watching, backin thanks so much for watching, back ina thanks so much for watching, back in a couple of minutes. hello. it wasn't so much a 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 had not one but two weather fronts to contend with. and thursday again is a real mishmash of weather, low pressure very much the dominant feature, the isobars squeezing together on its southern flank. so, it isn't going to be a particularly cold start to the day given all the breeze and the cloud as well, 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 up into central and southern parts of scotland. right from the word go, there are showers to be had across wales and the south—west of england. these will rush their way ever

further towards the east as we get on through the afternoon. we may even hear the odd rumble of thunder and those winds too, quite noticeable through the channel areas, 40—45 miles an hour or so in the highest of the gusts. for northern ireland, the best and the brightest perhaps later in the day, out towards the west. stuck underneath the cloud, the eastern side of scotland, nine only, a high in the day of about 13 or 14. 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 again, i think we'll see some pretty heavy downpours towards the eastern side of the pennines. perhaps 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 i take you out friday and move you into the first part of the weekend. but you just get the sense that it is drifting a little bit further towards the east and out allows it to start picking up the north and north—westerly wind. so the northern areas 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 the temperatures responding as a consequence. a high in the day 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 into the south actually moves a little bit further north. we will keep you posted on that one. take care, bye—bye.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the worst is yet to come: the head of the federal reserve warns of an unprecedented slump this quarter after the us sees the sharpest economic contraction in more than a decade. plus, locked down and logged on! facebook user numbers surge by 100 million in the first three months of the year. almost 3 billion people now use one of its services. 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: we start with the economic impact of the pandemic, because the head of america's central bank, the us federal reserve, has warned the economy is heading for an unprecedented slump. the warning comes as official figures show it's already in the biggest downturn since the global financial crisis a decade ago. us economic growth went into reverse in the first three months of the year with gdp shrinking 4.8% in the three months to the end of march. and the worst is yet to come as the first quarter data only covers the first few weeks of the lockdown in the us. a fall that steep hasn't been seen since 2009 and brings to an end the longest period of growth in us history. on wednesday, the chair of the us federal reserve, jerome powell, warned that the depth of the economic crisis is only beginning to become clear.

many standard economic statistics have yet to catch up with the reality we are experiencing. it is clear the effects on the economy are severe. millions of workers are losing theirjobs, next week's jobs report and expected to show the unemployment rate, which was a 50 year lows two months ago, has surged into double digits. household spending has plummeted as people stay home and measures of consumer sentiment have fallen was a better sleep. hotels, airlines, restaurants, department stores and other retailers have been particularly ha rd retailers have been particularly hard hit. manufacturing output fell sharply in march and is likely to drop even more rapidly this month as many factories have temporarily closed. overall, economic activity will likely drop atan economic activity will likely drop at an unprecedented rate in the second quarter. emma—lou montgomery is associate director of fidelity international, which manages some $380 billion worth of funds

around the world. always a pleasure to have you on the programme. a dire warning from jerome powell. quite incredible. this huge downturn which is to be expected, but is really bad news and really only the tip of the iceberg, like you say. there is worse to come. this doesn't factor in the situation right now. people are going to be bracing. yet yesterday we see the us market in particular is carrying on its bald run and it is what we are seeing on the economic front. why is that? why are the markets going in a different direction to the mood generally? i think there seems to be optimism and determination in the us, especially on the markets, just come out of his ok, to come through this, to get out of this crisis we are in. today also there has been a big surge in the market on the back of great earnings coming through from the great and the good of silicon valley, again not

particularly factoring in the current situation, but it points to them pulling through. a massive surge on the back of hopes for this antiviral drug thatis hopes for this antiviral drug that is hoped it may be some sort of lot is leah qr, but a treatment for coronavirus, and thatis treatment for coronavirus, and that is saying that she has a 5.5% alone. there is a big difference between the way europe has handled the crisis in terms of the economy and the way the us has handled it and what they have done and how proactive they have seemed to be. definitely. we have seen much more caution in europe. science from the uk prime minister there is fears over a double lock down, they don't wa nt to double lock down, they don't want to have to go back into a lot down after coming out of it. we have heard the same from angela merkel in germany. uk markets are actually at the end of yesterday higher, so there isa of yesterday higher, so there is a feeling that the optimism in the us and also in asia overnight as well is actually helping to lift hopes in europe

as well. but, yes, it is definitely more steady as she goes here, we're not quite as bullish as a us at the moment. accepting other countries to come up with their gdp gives as well. -- figures. we have to expect the economic side is going to look gloomy going forward , going to look gloomy going forward, that can be no doubt about it. we have seen the numbers of jobless and unprecedented and which way will this go? there is no sign of this coming to an end, the coronavirus pandemic. obviously this is going to go on for a while. tarome powell talked about the fact the worst is to come. this is really only the beginning of the downturn that we could potentially see —— jerome. markets and investors and the rest of us will be looking for hope there will be a positive outcome to all of this. i am loving your futuristic chair there. thank you, emily. very cool. emily montgomery, thank you very much. let's go to asia now, and hopes of a recovery

in china's economy have been dented by a new report on factory activity. shara njit leyl is looking at this for us. what is the latest on these figures? it is really interesting because there was really the release of two conflicting reports on essentially the same thing, manufacturing data in china this morning. first came the official report on china by the factory out —— output which showed it had expanded in april, though at a slower pace than march. that was when it rebounded to some degree from the lot down in factories and manufacturing in february. it had come out 50.8, which shows a tiny bit of growth and activity. then had the we private survey on the very same thing, painting a very different picture of china positive factory output in april. it showed activity unexpectedly shrank as the coronavirus pandemic shattered global demand, causing a huge

drop in export orders and more layoffs. it came in at 49.4 last nine months, and remember that any reading below 50 signifies a contraction, and anything above is growth. in spite of these conflicting reports, what we should bear in mind is that while the dip in activity isn't as severe as the contractions we are seeing in other countries, it does reinforce the idea that any recovery in the world was my second economy is likely to be some way off. as always, thank you very much for the update from our singapore business hub. shares of facebook have surged more than 10% after social media giant reported another big jump in users and revenues and said earnings were holding up despite the pandemic. facebook earned $17.7 billion in the three months to the end of march, over $5 billion of that was profit. that was much more than expected and comes despite the lockdowns around

the world that began in march. in fact, it was up almost 18% on the same period last year, although that's the slowest quarterly growth it's had as a public company. almost 3 billion people now use facebook or one of its other services, including instagram and whatsapp, at least once a month. that is incredible. that's a jump of 100 million monthly users on the previous quarter. joining me now is james erskine, managing director of the digital marketing consultancy rocket. thank you so much forjoining us thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc news. those figures, nearly 3 billion users worldwide on all its platforms. it isa worldwide on all its platforms. it is a really incredible jump. it is a really incredible jump. it is a really incredible jump. it is incredible when it is in the prism of what is going on around the world. facebook has never been almost damaged by its reputation on matters

outside, it has always seen a strong user base and it is a was added new features, and this is another quarter were managed to hold onto its user growth, but also held onto its reve nu es growth, but also held onto its revenues as well. it actually has said that there might still be worse to come, but their cfo said last night that maybe it is going to hold onto its reve nu es is going to hold onto its revenues as well. they have seen a revenues as well. they have seena dip revenues as well. they have seen a dip from sectors like travel and auto, but because much of their customer base is smaller businesses, and they have been it not quite as much asa have been it not quite as much as a big revenues, the bigger brands yet, they have still held onto it. and yet it is reported its lowest quarterly growth as a public company, pressured somewhat by obviously the slowdown in digital advertising market. how worried should be in the short to medium term? they have been a couple of things. when you really kind of get into the really kind of get into the real meat of the report that came out last night night,

there has been some interesting things. they launched a partnership with an indian business, and what that will allow people to do in that marketplace is enable them to trade through whatsapp. they have also been a bit slow off the mark in the current times meeting products, so they have only rush launched meeting rooms to allow 50 people in conference calls, they have been a little bit slower than i think even they would have liked. at that said, and this sounds quite mercenary, they have had quite a good coronavirus crisis, they position themselves as useful, and they are actually going to launch a new brand piece to showcase, it will be called more together, and it will talk about how they have 2000 locally covid—19 support groups. they position themselves as useful and i think they have kind of the tone right along with lots of other social platforms. talking about tone, mark zuckerberg

talked about his worry about the lockdown being lifted too quickly, so he has come out in support of a longer lockdown, hasn't he, compared to other ceos? it is absolutely what he said on the earnings call last night. it he said if we go quickly, it could lead to a second financial blip, and he also actually said that facebook is a business themselves will be going slower than the government guidelines, so they will be slower to have mass groups and congregations of people, so again, that is mark zuckerberg setting his own political announcement as well. 0k, political announcement as well. ok,james, thank you political announcement as well. ok, james, thank you very much indeed for your input. good to talk to you. let's stay with those giants of the tech industry, because amazon reports its earnings later on this thursday. it has been shipping millions more packages as stores around the world are closed and people stay at home. but it has also been struggling to deal with new challenges brought on by the pandemic and the increased demand on its services.

the bbc‘s technology reporter zoe thomas has more from san francisco. with deliveries marked as an essential service, amazon warehouses have been rushing to meet demand. and to cope with the pressure, and is expanding its workforce by more than a fifth. adding 175,000 newjobs —— warehouse and delivery workers. amazon faces criticism over its working conditions and is warehouses. protesters at fulfilment centres across the us demand more protective gear, increased cleaning and facilities, and higher wages. if we thought about the essential part of any big machine or any ecosystem, the pa rt machine or any ecosystem, the part you take care of them are —— most, when you think of a car, you have an engine, you get the oil change. when it comes with centre employers, there is no reason essential employees be asking for having to fight for paid sick leave, paid, proper equipment to do

theirjob. in response, amazon has raised salaries and promised two weeks of paid sick leave to us workers if they can prove they have covid—19. investors will be played with amazon polymer growth in sales and the prospect of a shift to remote working will boost its web surfing business. even those with an eye on the bottom line begin to worry that how amazon treat its workers will eventually hurt its profits. at the same time, people are looking to see our major companies and brands acting as environment, and if amazon is not its work as well, if they are not taking the right precautions, it could cost them lasting brand damage. if that effect occurred, it would be quite as down the line. worker safety is a challenge bowl business operating during the pandemic. but as amazon cashes in on the immediate crisis, investors will be looking at how it lands to avoid a self—inflicted calamity in the future. zoe thomas, bbc news,

san francisco. let's get some of the day's other news. global energy demand could slump by 6% this year, the biggest contraction on record according to the international energy agency. the iea says the slump would lead to a fall in carbon dioxide emissions of 8%, six times more than the drop seen in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2009. demand for tesla's electric cars has held up in the first three months of the year despite the coronavirus pandemic. revenues jumped 30%, allowing the firm to turn a small profit of $16 million. it is the third quarterly profit in a row for the company after yea rs of losses. but tesla says forced shutdowns and limits on deliveries are clouding its forecast for the coming months. and boss elon musk has ta ken to twitter to protest against the lockdown, saying "free america now!" microsoft says revenues were up 15% in the past three months

to $35 billion, $10 billion of which was profit. both numbers were better than wall street was expecting. microsoft has been boosted by strong demand for cloud computing, as well as its teams online meeting app and xbox gaming services, as the world shifts to working and playing demand for coffee has soared in recent weeks, as consumers stockpile basic supplies from supermarkets. but for speciality coffee, it's a very different picture. this high grade, more expensive coffee, is primarily sold in cafes and restaurants — most of which are now shut. many businesses in this industry now fear for their survival, while farmers fear for their livelihoods. nina nanji reports. across these coffee farms in western columbia, there is a mounting sense of crisis.

orders for high quality speciality coffee are drying up. we have seen a drop in orders between 50— 70%. up. we have seen a drop in orders between 50- 70%. farmers like me gal turn to speciality coffee production because it guarantees a stable price, agreed and advance. if those buyers disappear, farmers will be forced to sell directly into the commodity market where pricing can be very volatile. we are definitely scared, we don't know how things will progress. it is difficult to turn back to commodity because with the price we never know if we will be able to invest in our farms. one of me gal's buyers is this roaster based in south london. coronavirus has taken a huge toll on the business. our main customers are all closed, we have only got online direct to consumer. this is terrible for the industry but it is also terrible for coffee lovers and high street. for laurie, the

timing of all of this could not have been any worse. she opened a cafe in west london in early march, but was forced to close just days later when the uk went into lockdown. are you hoping to try to reopen when all of this is over? yes, and we are definitely going to reopen but the next six months are going to be purely about survival. the hope is that cafe is like laurie's will be able to bounce back. demand, even for more expensive coffee, will also eventually return. but for farmers, many of whom already live a precarious existence, the worst could be still to come stop it is a fragile supply chains. once broken, they could take months if not yea rs they could take months if not years to rebuild. what that means is we will have two change our crops, sell our farms, or even go into

bankruptcy. as with so many aspects of this pandemic, it is often the poorest people around the world who will be worst hit. this is bbc news and these are the latest headlines: the uk prime minister is set to discuss how the coronavirus lockdown can be eased — but he's unlikely to set out a timetable. the senior white house health advisor says there's been positive data from us trials ofan anti—viraldrug, for treating covid—19. as the coronavirus outbreak sweeps across the us, it's killed black americans at a disproportionate rate. in albany, georgia, decades of poverty and economic inequality are threatening an entire generation of african americans. chelsea bailey from the bbc‘s online team has paid a visit, and has this report. when america catches a cold, black america gets pneumonia.

if this virus was an actual walking person it would be a villain that picked the right place, the right time and the right circumstances to do utter devastation. across the us, predominantly black communities like this rural county in georgia are bearing the brunt of the pandemic. with more than 1400 infections and at least 100 deaths, the virus has nearly twice as densely here, compared to the local average. this is a really forgotten, out of sight out of mind part of town. people on this side of town don't have family doctors, so by the time they go buy over—the—counter medication, they try to fix it themselves. well, by that time

the symptoms get worse, so by the time they have covid—19, they also have diabetes and all those other issues, it is like gas on the fire. as the coronavirus ravages the us, similar disparities have played out in other virus hotspots, like new york, detroit and chicago. decades of poverty, inequality and the lingering impact of racial discrimination have made african—americans particularly vulnerable. there are a lot of diseases that disproportionately affect african—american communities such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and those illnesses are also things that we think are predisposing factors to people having a worse outcome when it comes to coronavirus. i don't think it is a factor of the disease itself, think that has more to with other health disparities and socio—economic disparities that make it more likely to hit an african—american community.

once we tally up the losses, look at the elders that we have lost, there are people behind these numbers. we didn't ask for this to happen. we need to understand that if we are going to do anything, we have to make this right. we have to make the african—american communities healthy and whole. being in lockdown can be a challenge for so many of us. but for teenagers, whose world can revolve around social gatherings and going out, it's particularly difficult. so a group of young people from a london theatre group have got creative to make a visual time capsule documenting their lives in lockdown. and they're not the only ones, as brenda emmanus reports. hey, guys!

welcome to the bytehouse! meet the bytesquad, six of the uk's popular content creators who've all moved in together before lockdown and are now producing entertaining and informative content for teenagers on the shortform video sharing platform on tiktok. working from a secret london location, they have a combined following of over 14 million people, but a north london theatre group have found their own way to keep teenagers connected during the lockdown, through a virtual time capsule. and this is our coronavirus time capsule. and it starts... now! 17—year—old inaayat chowdhury is a member of company three theatre. every week since the lockdown, they've been recording the pandemic through the eyes of teenagers. it's given us this opportunity to really vocalise how we feel at this time, and i think with technology, it's really easy to document our daily lives during the lockdown and i think it's really cool.

it is really important that it is fun and that the kids really enjoy doing it, but the really important thing is that like, it's really hard being in lockdown and it's often really hard being a teenager. and until you combine those things together — and it feels really important that we are listening to the teenagers in our lives and that we're trying to understand what this is like for them as well as everyone else affected by the pandemic. but they aren't keeping all of this fun to themselves, company three have teamed up with publishers to create free resources to support any groups that want to create their own virtual time capsules. to date, over 250 groups from around the world have signed up to take part.

oh, my god, it's so bad! from belfast to inverness, australia, italy, kenya and the usa, teenagers have been recording the time they have been forced to stay at home. when you look back at the coronavirus pandemic in say, five years' time, what you think your feelings will be? i don't want it to be something that just took away a few months of my life, because i feel like that's useless. i think it has to be that was a challenge and we all as a society overcame. so i think that's what i want it to be. i'm in lockdown with my three younger brothers. company three are encouraging any group of teenagers who would like to take part to do so. who knows how long we will be entertaining ourselves? brenda emmanus, bbc london. oh, to be 18 again! well, maybe not. remember, there is plenty more on our website, or you can also download the bbc news app.

there is plenty of information there if you choose to read at. you can also reach me on twitter, thank you so much for your company. goodbye from us. hello. it wasn't so much a 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 had not one but two weather fronts to contend with. and thursday again is a real mishmash of weather, low pressure very much the dominant feature, the isobars squeezing together on its southern flank. so, it isn't going to be a particularly cold start to the day given all the breeze and the cloud as well, 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 up into central and southern parts of scotland. right from the word go, there are showers to be had across wales and the south—west of england. these will rush their way ever further towards the east as we get on through the afternoon. we may even hear the odd rumble

of thunder and those winds too, quite noticeable through the channel areas, 40—45 miles an hour or so in the highest of the gusts. for northern ireland, the best and the brightest perhaps later in the day, out towards the west. stuck underneath the cloud, the eastern side of scotland, nine only, a high in the day of about 13 or 14. 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 again, i think we'll see some pretty heavy downpours towards the eastern side of the pennines. perhaps 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 i take you out friday and move you into the first part of the weekend. but you just get the sense that it is drifting a little bit further towards the east and out allows it to start picking up the north

and north—westerly wind. so the northern areas 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 the temperatures responding as a consequence. a high in the day 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 into the south actually moves a little bit further north. we will keep you posted on that one. take care, bye—bye.

good morning, welcome to breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today: the captain becomes a colonel — on the day he celebrates his 100th birthday, the queen recognises captain tom moore's remarkable fundraising achievements with an honour. i was proud to be a duke of wellington and i still am and to get this really does put the icing on the cake. after raising almost £30 million, he's received birthday wishes